


love me, please?

by meredithflynn



Series: like sinking ships on waters [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Adorable Louis Tomlinson, Alternate Universe - High School, Crushes, Cute, Falling In Love, Fluff, Harry-centric, Innocent Louis, Jock Harry Styles, M/M, Pining, Possessive Harry, Slow Burn, harry has a HUGE crush on louis, liam and harry are best friends, louis and niall and zayn are best friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:20:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 37
Words: 116,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23227750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meredithflynn/pseuds/meredithflynn
Summary: harry is the popular boy at school, loved by everyone and enjoying his life. louis is the quiet, shy but unbelievably gorgeous boy who makes a certain curly boy fall deeply in love with him. the only problem is, they've never talked before. so what happens when a frog crushes on a hedgehog?aka a larry stylinson highschool au
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik/Liam Payne
Series: like sinking ships on waters [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2085744
Comments: 161
Kudos: 548





	1. Chapter 1

It was the first day of school, and Harry was already bored.

He _knew_ it was going to be a great year - he was popular, the teachers liked him, and his grades were excellent. He was going to hang out with all of his friends, join fun extracurriculars, and learn about the topics that interested him, just like any other year.

And that was precisely the problem. Ever since high school had started, Harry had had the same friends, joined the same extracurriculars, and learnt about the same things every year.

Don't get him wrong - Harry was grateful. He _liked_ school, he liked meeting new people and he liked learning. But everything seemed so mundane to him now - year after year, he'd done the same thing.

 _Here we go again, another school year that's exactly the same as all the other years,_ Harry thought as he entered the school gates next to Liam, his childhood best friend. _I know so many people, I've joined so many clubs, I have good grades... there is literally nothing new or exciting this year._

Little did he know, he'd meet someone new this year... and that person would change his life forever.

*****

Harry's first class was English, which, unfortunately, he didn't share with Liam.

"Bye, Li, see you later," Harry said, waving goodbye to Liam as he disappeared into the sea of students. He stopped outside of his English classroom, and one of his friends, Nick, bounded over.

"Hey, Styles," Nick greeted.

"Hey, Nick."

"I'm glad you're here, I need a friend to survive this stupid class." Nick sighed and stretched - he wasn't exactly a model student.

Harry laughed. "Come on, Grimshaw, English isn't that bad."

"You think that because you're a good at it," Nick grumbled as they entered the classroom. Most of the class was already inside, and were milling around and talking. Harry and Nick were about to say hi to their friends when their teacher, Mr. Jackson, walked in.

"Quiet down, people," Mr. Jackson yelled. "Alright, I've got a seating plan, listen for your name."

The class groaned, but listened intently while Mr. Jackson read off his paper. When Harry heard his name being called, he made his way down the aisle to his seat.

And that's when he noticed _him_.

Sitting two seats behind Harry's, there was this boy Harry had never seen before. He looked so tiny, with shaggy brown hair. He was wearing a rather oversized hoodie and black skinny jeans, and when Harry walked in front of him and turned around so he could see the boy's face, Harry was floored.

Tan skin, a pixie nose, pink lips, ocean blue eyes, and perfect cheekbones. Holy shit, the _cheekbones_. Harry couldn't help but notice that the boys' bone structure was completely perfect. Harry was sure that the boy could murder someone with the sharpness of his cheekbones and jawline - in fact, Harry felt like being murdered by them.

And those eyes. Oh man, the eyes.

They were covered by glasses, but the sparkling blue color still shone brightly. The unknown boy had these perfectly long and beautiful eyelashes, and he was writing something in his notebook, his tongue sticking out slightly in concentration. His bangs fell into his eyes and he brushed them away, not noticing Harry.

Harry realized that he'd been standing and staring at the boy for _way_ too long, so he quickly made his way to his seat. He wanted to turn around to look at the boy again, but that would be too obvious. Then, he remembered that he had a small compact mirror in his bag for when he needed to fix his hair (What? He wanted to make sure he looked presentable all the time).

Throughout the class, Harry would occasionally observe the small boy through the mirror. The mystery boy was absolutely immersed in Mr. Jackson's lecture, and was furiously writing in his notebook. Harry noted that the boy always stuck his tongue out in concentration, and that his glasses kept slipping down his nose and the boy continuously pushed them back up. He was absolutely gorgeous, but adorable and cute at the same time.

Once, when Harry turned around to tell Demi, who was sitting behind him, something - while looking at the mystery boy, of course - he made eye contact with the blue-eyed boy. They both blushed and looked away, and Harry saw through his compact mirror that the boy looked a little flustered before slowly returning to being concentrated on Mr. Jackson's lesson. _He's so cute when he blushes_ , Harry thought. Then he frowned. Who _was_ this boy? Harry knew pretty much everyone at school, yet he didn't have any memory of seeing this gorgeous boy before.

When the class ended, Harry got up and turned around to look at the boy again. He was packing up his things when a raven-haired boy approached him.

With a perfect bone structure, perfectly shaped brown eyes and perfect hair, Harry recognized the other boy as Zayn Malik. Zayn was one of the coolest people around - not exactly popular, because he was pretty quiet, but all the girls - and guys, actually - were crazy over Zayn. He was just so _cool_.

Zayn said something to the boy, the boy slung his backpack over his shoulder and they exited together.

Okay. So the boy was friends with Zayn Malik. That was kind of intimidating, since Zayn barely had any friends. To be close with Zayn Malik probably made the boy a really cool person, too.

Harry went on to his next lesson, but he couldn't get the pretty mystery boy out of his head. Who was he? Why was he so adorable and gorgeous at the same time? Who allowed him to be so beautiful?

During lunch, Harry sat with Liam at their usual table. It was just the two of them, because the rest of their usual lunch friends were late. Harry kept looking around, hoping to catch sight of the blue-eyed boy. Liam raised his eyebrows at his best friend's unusual behavior.

"Looking for someone?" he asked.

Harry stopped craning his neck around and stared at Liam. "Um, no."

Liam rolled his eyes. "Come on, I've known you since kindergarten. Don't think you can lie to my face."

Harry bit his lip. "Okay, fine. Maybe I _am_ looking for someone. The thing is, in my English class I saw this guy that I've never seen before, and I was wondering who he was." Harry looked around again, and spotted the boy and Zayn entering the cafeteria. He felt his heart beating faster as he turned to Liam and said, "The guy with the blue eyes, walking with Zayn." He nodded in their direction.

Liam squinted for a bit, thought for a while, then said, "Oh. That's Louis Tomlinson."

Louis Tomlinson.

 _Louis Tomlinson_.

Harry felt like that was the perfect name for the blue-eyed boy. Louis was kind of a cute name and the boy was kind of a cute boy (actually, a _very_ cute boy in Harry's opinion).

"I don't know much about him, except that he's super smart, quiet and shy," Liam continued. "It kinda took me a while to remember his name... I hear he's nice but he's super reserved and I don't think he's friends with a lot of people."

Harry groaned inwardly. Louis was _really smart_. That made things harder, because intelligent people were bound to look at Harry as a complete idiot. "How come I've never seen him before? I've never even heard his name."

Liam shrugged. "I told you, he's quiet and shy. Doesn't do much socializing. He'd probably be completely unknown in this school if he wasn't friends with Zayn."

Harry kept watching Louis and Zayn, and noticed them walking towards a table where an excited-looking blonde sat. Harry realized that the blonde was Niall Horan - a kind of intimidating person as well, because Niall was loud and cheerful and Harry wasn't really sure what to think of him.

Great. So Louis was friends with two people that Harry found intimidating, and Harry rarely found _anyone_ intimidating - he was friends with pretty much everyone. Louis and Zayn sat down at Niall's table, and Harry stiffened when Niall slung his arm around Louis and pulled him closer. The two looked so comfortable together and Harry was getting jealous. Were they dating?

Wait - Harry didn't even know if Louis was into guys. Harry himself was an open bisexual - he'd been known to date both guys and girls in the past - but he knew absolutely nothing about Louis' own preference, and he doubted that Liam knew either. If Louis wasn't into guys, he wouldn't be dating Niall - big relief, because Niall was pretty gorgeous too - but if Louis wasn't into guys then Harry couldn't date him.

Well. Life was complicated.

Harry kept watching the trio. Niall said something and Louis laughed - nearly making Harry's heart burst. Louis looked so hot and cute at the same time when he laughed, his eyes scrunching up adorably.

And then Louis accidentally made eye contact with Harry.

Shit. Harry immediately looked away, blushing, trying to pretend he hadn't been staring at Louis for the past five minutes.

Liam eyed his friend carefully, then cleared his throat. "Harry, do you have a crush on Louis Tomlinson?"

Harry's eyes widened and his cheeks turned even redder than before, but luckily more of his friends sat down at the table before Liam could get an answer.

After Harry and Liam finished their lunch and left the table, Liam persisted. "H, you haven't answered my question."

"What question?" Harry asked nonchalantly, as if he didn't know exactly what Liam was talking about.

"Do you have a crush on Louis Tomlinson?" Liam folded his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Um, uh," Harry said nervously. Did he have a crush on Louis? Well, he definitely thought Louis was hot and adorable and Harry wanted to kiss him, but he wasn't sure if he had a crush.

"Come on, Harry, spit it out. And don't try telling me you don't have a crush on Louis, because you were staring at him during lunch, and then you _blushed and giggled_ when you guys made eye contact."

"Well, Li, I don't know," Harry confessed. "I mean, I think he's cute, but I don't even know him. Like, I don't know his personality and everything."

Liam laughed. "Well, it makes sense, you didn't even know who he was until I told you. But honestly, H, I think you're crazy in love with Louis. Just look at yourself, you've been blushing nonstop while we've been talking about him."

"Um, uh," Harry said again, trying to hide his tomato-red cheeks.

Liam smirked. "Thought so."

*****

After lunch, Harry headed to his biology class, and noticed that _fuck_ , Louis was in his bio class as well. And Niall was standing right next to Louis, arm draped around his shoulder, chatting away. Harry's heart clenched, although he still wasn't sure about the relationship between Louis and Niall.

Then Louis and Harry made eye contact, and Louis' eyes widened. Harry quickly look away, because now he'd made eye contact with Louis at least three times in one day, and Louis probably thought that Harry was a creepy stalker or something.

When he looked at Louis and Niall again, Louis was telling Niall something, looking worried. Harry wondered what Louis' voice sounded like, and he was dying to hear it. What were the two boys were talking about? Harry heard Niall's loud laugh from across the room, and saw Louis pouting at his friend laughing.

Louis pouting was probably the cutest thing Harry had ever seen. He looked like a little five year old (an incredibly adorable five year old at that), and Harry's heart was melting at the sight. He could literally see Louis whining and saying something remotely like, "Hey, don't laugh, Ni."

Harry got a little jealous when he realized that Louis had a pet name for Niall, but then their teacher, Ms. Smith, entered. Just like pretty much every teacher, she started off by sorting their seats. And - just his luck - Harry was seated very close to Louis' seat. Louis and Niall were seated right next to each other, and Harry could see Louis smiling while Niall babbled away, and he was even close enough so that he could hear traces of their conversation.

When Louis spoke for the first time, Harry was taken aback.

Louis' voice was raspy but high pitched at the same time, and it was so endearing and soft. At one point, Louis said teasingly, "If you ever find a girlfriend, Ni, I'll be so surprised."

So Niall was into girls! And they weren't dating! Harry breathed a sigh of relief, but his eyes shot up when he heard Niall say, "But I won't be surprised when you find a boyfriend, Lou. You're, like, the definition of perfect."

Holy crap. Did Niall just say that he wouldn't be surprised if Louis got a _boyfriend_? So Louis was into _boys_? This just kept getting better and better. He totally agreed with Niall - Louis was the definition of perfect - but he didn't like the part where Niall wouldn't be surprised if Louis got a boyfriend, because that meant that _lots_ of people must like Louis. Harry wasn't surprised - after all, Louis was just so cute and pretty - but Harry got mad at the thought of other people liking Louis.

 _No way_ , he found himself thinking. _He's mine_. Then Harry immediately groaned. Great. He was getting possessive over somebody he'd never even talked to before.

Over the course of the week, Harry found out that Louis had history with him as well. Niall and Zayn both weren't in Louis and Harry's history class, but Liam was. As far as Harry knew, Niall and Zayn were Louis' best friends, and he only had a few more acquaintances.

Louis was kind of a loner, but Harry, as the popular guy, felt like Louis was completely out of his league. Louis was so attractive, adorable and intelligent. Harry was sure that he could never, _ever_ get a guy like Louis, because there were so many better people that Louis could date.

Liam observed Harry's behavior for the entire week, and after days of enduring Harry staring very obviously at Louis every second he got, Liam sincerely informed Harry, "You're absolutely head over heels for Louis, H."

Harry would usually deny it, but he knew he couldn't, because Liam was telling the truth. Harry was infatuated with Louis and would study his every move, every habit, every word he said. When Liam saw that Harry didn't defend himself and just blushed, he laughed. "Harry, you're so whipped."

Yep. He definitely was.

*****

Harry was definitely whipped.

He had three classes with Louis, and he in every one he was seated pretty near him. Harry couldn't keep his eyes off the adorable little blue-eyed boy. He wanted to go up to Louis and talk to him, and become Louis' friend. But Louis barely seemed to talk to anybody but Zayn and Niall, so it would be hard to become close with Louis.

Harry rambled on and on to Liam about Louis. "Li, have you seen him? His cheekbones are perfect. Screw that, everything about him is perfect. He sticks his tongue out when he's concentrating, it's the cutest thing, and I've seen him pout a couple times before, and I swear, I was going to die, he was so cute -"

Liam couldn't help but smile at his best friend. He'd seen Harry in love several times before, but nothing compared to how he was now. Harry just went all dreamy when he talked about Louis, and he glowed in a way that Liam had never seen before.

"Haz, as much as I like Louis, I don't need to hear about his eyelashes," Liam said, interrupting Harry's rambling. "Seriously, all you talk about is Louis."

Harry blushed. "Well, he's really cute."

Liam smirked. "I told you you had a crush on him, H. But you haven't even talked to him before."

Harry huffed. It had been weeks since Harry first saw Louis, but Harry could barely muster the courage to smile at Louis in the hallways. Ever since Harry started noticing Louis, he noticed that Louis passed by the same hallways that Harry did, at the same time. They must be soulmates, right?

"Harry, you've got to talk to him. If you don't talk, you guys can't date, idiot." Liam reminded him.

Harry blushed at the thought of him dating Louis. What would that be like? He imagined holding Louis' tiny hand, staring into Louis' beautiful blue eyes, and he couldn't help smiling. Dating Louis would be his dream come true.

Liam made a gagging noise. "You're already so red just _thinking_ about dating him. Seriously, Harry, you need to go talk to him."

"But, Li, I can't. It would be so embarrassing, he's just so smart and if I say something dumb he'll think I'm dumb. Oh God, he might not even talk to me because he probably already thinks I'm dumb."

Liam snorted. "You're not dumb, Harry, look at your grades. And you'll be fine, you've managed to communicate properly with people for your entire life. You know what, I'll try talking to Louis and I'll tell you how it goes."

Harry scowled at the thought of Liam talking to Louis before he did, but he thought it was for the best - if Liam tried first, Harry would know how to have a proper conversation with Louis. "Okay, Li. I give you permission to talk to Louis."

"When did I need permission to talk to someone?" Liam asked incredulously. "Seriously, H, you're becoming way to possessive of Louis. Tone it down a little, you creep."

So the next day, at the beginning of history, Liam approached Louis, with Harry was sitting near enough to hear their conversation.

"Hey, are you Louis?" Liam asked brightly.

Louis looked up, and looked pretty shocked and surprised when he saw he was talking to Liam Payne. "Um, yeah."

Harry thought he would die when he heard Louis' soft, raspy voice. He saw Liam smiling at Louis and raised an eyebrow. _Lima Bean, I swear if you're trying to hit on Louis I will murder you_ , he thought.

"Well, I'm Liam," Liam said, holding out a hand for Louis to shake. 

Louis took it hesitantly, looking a little confused. "Do you need anything?"

Liam laughed. "No, it's just that I've been seeing you around a lot, but I've never talked to you before."

"Oh." A thin smile formed on Louis' lips.

"What do you think of this class? I mean, I find it pretty hard," Liam continued, deciding to play it safe and talk about schoolwork.

"Um, well, it's pretty interesting, a little hard, I guess," Louis mumbled, playing with his sweater paws. Harry noticed that Louis had a lot of oversized clothes, which made him look so cuddly and cute. Harry wished he could pick Louis up and put him in his pocket. Louis was _way_ too adorable.

"Yeah," Liam agreed. "Definitely interesting. What's your favorite class?"

"Oh, um," Louis looked at his shoes. "Well, I guess I like most subjects. Maybe my favorite's math or something."

"Cool." Liam grinned. "You're one of the very, _very_ few people I know that like math. Everyone hates it."

Louis let out a laugh - a real, genuine laugh that made Harry jealous because _Liam_ had made Louis laugh and not Harry. At that moment, the bell rang and Mr. Andrews, their teacher, walked in.

"Well, it was nice talking to you," Liam said, walking back to his seat while waving goodbye.

"Yeah," Louis said, smiling at Liam.

"See, it wasn't that bad," Liam told Harry later. "He's definitely shy, but you've got to make a move, Harry."

"Hmmm." Harry studied Louis from locker. "I don't know, Li, he's going to think I'm a idiot."

Liam rolled his eyes. "Harry, he's going to think you're a idiot if you keep staring at him and _not talking to him at all_. You know, if you actually talked to him, it would give you the chance to be his friend, then his chance to be his boyfriend. Isn't that what you want?"

Be Louis Tomlinson's boyfriend? Harry couldn't even old eye contact with him. Every time Harry's eyes had met Louis', both boys had immediately turned away. If Harry held eye contact with Louis for more than two seconds, he was sure that his body would combust because Louis' eyes were just so perfect. If Harry couldn't make eye contact with Louis, how could he date him?

"Li, I don't know what to talk to him about. I mean, I don't know anything about him." Harry said.

"School," Liam said simply. "It's the thing you have in common. If you hear him talking about homework or something, just join in! Say something, you'll just seem like a normal person who's just talking about schoolwork."

"Ugh." Harry buried his face into his hands. "Li, this is so hard!"

"Well, it seemed pretty easy for you when you asked out all of your exes."

Harry stopped looking at Louis at and looked at Liam. "That was different! Li, save me. Louis is completely out of my league."

Liam patted his best friend's shoulder sympathetically. "Come on, Harry, I know you've got it in you. Man, you know so many people, talking to one isn't going to be hard, right?"

Harry sighed. "It's a lot harder when he's perfect."

Liam rolled his eyes. "I've said it before and I'll say it again - Harry, you're so whipped."

Harry's eyes returned to Louis, but they immediately shot away when Harry saw that Louis was watching him.

_Louis was watching him._

What the heck? Zayn was talking to him and Louis was watching Harry? Harry squeaked, grabbed Liam's arm, and quickly dragged him away.

"What?" Liam asked, irritated.

"Louis was watching me just now, I swear. He was talking to Zayn but he was looking at me!" Harry said, freaking out. "What is that supposed to mean? His face was completely blank, I don't even know what he was thinking! He probably thinks I'm a complete weirdo!"

"You didn't have to pull me away _that_ fast," Liam said sourly, rubbing his rather sore arm. "Harry, Louis doesn't even know you, he can't possibly think you're weird when you haven't even _done_ anything."

Harry tried to calm himself. "I guess you're right, Li." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feedback is appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

Harry felt like a failure.

Wait, no - Harry _was_ a failure. It had been more than a month, and he hadn't talked to Louis.

 _Today's the day_ , he told himself. _It's the day I will talk to Louis Tomlinson._

But his confidence faltered when he entered the biology lab - Niall had his arm slung around Louis, talking loudly. Niall was seriously so intimidating - how was Harry going to have a conversation with Louis when someone like Niall was around?

 _Screw this_ , Harry groaned to himself, sitting down at his seat. _Maybe I can catch him alone later._

Ms. Smith came into the lab and announced, "Today, you'll be dissecting a frog with your partner. Your partner is your deskmate, you're not allowed to swap."

There were a few groans from the class and Harry glanced over at his deskmate, a guy named Dylan. To be honest, Harry was a little afraid of dissecting frogs, but he had to look strong in front of Louis, who seemed unbothered by the idea of slicing open a dead body. Harry was having a hard time with the frog, mostly because Dylan had completely freaked out and refused to help Harry or touch the frog. Pretty much everyone had finished and Harry hadn't, much to his chagrin. Louis and Niall had been the first to finish - well, it was mostly Louis' work because Niall had touched the frog once and, like Dylan, refused to touch it again.

Ms. Smith sighed and walked over to Harry, who was still struggling. "Mr. Styles, do you need some help?

"Um, yes, ma'am," Harry said, turning red. 

Then, to his disbelief, Ms. Smith turned to look at Louis, and called, "Mr. Tomlinson, would you come over and help Mr. Styles?"

"Yes, ma'am," Louis said quietly, hopping off his stool. Niall, for some reason, was grinning like a madman.

Luckily, no one was paying attention to them, so Harry wasn't too embarrassed, but _fuck fuck fuck_ Louis Tomlinson was walking right towards him to help him dissect a frog. Harry had fantasized about talking to Louis almost every day, but this was definitely not how he thought it would happen. Ms. Smith walked away to help some other students, leaving Louis and Harry alone. _Oh my God, why is he even more perfect up close?_ Harry just stared at Louis.

"So. Um." Louis didn't meet Harry's eyes. "You need help?"

"Uh, yeah, I don't really get this," Harry said nervously.

"Well, it's pretty simple," Louis said, taking the scalpel from Harry's hand. At that moment,their hands accidentally brushed, and both boys turned bright red, mumbling quick apologies under their breath. "So. Um. You just kind of do this..." Louis began, and Harry tried to focus while his heart was still going crazy from accidentally touching Louis' hand.

When Louis had finished showing Harry how it was done, and made Harry do a little bit of dissecting, Harry decided that he had to make his move. He _had_ to have a conversation with Louis which did not involve dissection a dead frog.

Harry cleared his throat. "So, um, Louis. You're in my English class, right?" In his head, Harry was screaming, _Of course he is! You've been looking at him in your compact mirror every lesson, how is he not in your English class?"_

"Um, yeah," Louis said, his voice soft and endearing.

"Have you finished your essay yet?" Harry asked.

Louis laughed a little bit, and Harry's heart narrowly escaped bursting. "To be honest, I haven't even started and it's due in two days. I'm so screwed."

Harry grinned. "Me too! I don't think I'm going to be sleeping much with the workload."

"Yeah." Louis smiled. "It's going to take so long to write that essay, _and_ we have to do all the research as well."

"Don't even start," Harry said, feeling less nervous and more relaxed. "Mr. Jackson is insane if he thinks we can finish this on time. I mean, seriously? He must think we're all geniuses or something."

"Exactly." Louis shook his head, and Harry almost died at the sight of Louis' fluffy hair shifting around. "He's crazy."

Unfortunately for Harry, who had been doing _so_ well, Ms. Smith told the class to return to their seats. Louis shot Harry one last adorable little smile before walking back to his seat next to Niall. Harry felt absolutely elated - he'd talked to Louis Tomlinson, made him laugh, and Louis had _smiled at him_ before he'd left.

Holy _crap_.

*****

When Harry told Liam everything, Liam laughed. "Haz, I'm so proud. I told you talking about school would work!"

"Yeah, but I didn't think the very first thing we would talk about was a frog," Harry groaned. "That's so embarrassing."

"Well, at least you talked to him," Liam shrugged. Then he spotted Louis and Zayn in the crowd of students. "Harry! He's right there, go say hi to him."

"What?" Harry panicked, looking around wildly. "How?"

"By opening your mouth and saying hello, duh," Liam said, rolling his eyes and nudging him forward. "He's coming this way. We'll start walking, and when we pass them, just smile and say hi, cool and casual."

"Okay, okay." Harry ran a hand through his curls, and the two began walking.

Liam and Harry were getting closer and closer to Louis and Zayn, until Louis was right in front of Harry and had made eye contact with him.

"Hey, Louis," Harry said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, heart thumping wildly.

"Hey, Harry," Louis said softly in return, smiling a little bit at Harry as they passed each other.

"See? It's so easy," Liam said when they were out of earshot. "You don't have anything to freak out about. It's just a greeting."

"Cool, cool," Harry said, his heart racing. He felt so proud of himself - he'd talked to Louis _and_ said hi to him, all in one day.

*****

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Nick insisted. "We're going up against another team, and I'm sure we'll win! It's just a bunch of idiots on the other team."

Harry sighed. Nick was trying to convince him to go watch Nick's debate, and honestly Harry wasn't really interested, especially since Nick kept bad-mouthing the opposing team, but he agreed because Nick was being a pest. So he entered the debate classroom during the lunch break and sat down in the area reserved for the audience. He was scrolling through his phone, bored because he'd gotten there early, and that's when _he_ walked in.

Louis.

Louis freaking Tomlinson, with an oversized hoodie and sleep-soft eyes, walked into the classroom, closely followed by Niall. Louis' eyes flitted across the classroom, and landed on Harry.

Crap. Harry didn't know that Louis was in the debate club, and he quickly looked away, turning red. He definitely didn't regret coming to Nick's debate. When Harry finally looked at Louis again, he was writing on his note cards, doing that tongue-sticking-out-in-concentration thing, making him look absolutely adorable. Niall was smirking, seeming pretty chill and confident about the debate. Then, Nick walked in.

"Hey, Harry!" he called. Harry looked over at Nick, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Louis had stopped writing and had looked up.

"Hey, Grimmy," Harry said. "Are you ready for the debate?"

"Totally." Nick bounded his way across the classroom to Harry. "I swear, we're going to win."

"Good luck, then," Harry said, smiling.

"Thanks, H!" Nick grinned and walked away to take his place at his team's table. Only then did Harry realize that Nick and Louis were on opposite teams - he immediately felt angry that Nick called Louis and his team a bunch of idiots, but he was also curious about how Louis would do. Louis was such a quiet person, and Harry had rarely heard him speak, much less give a three minute long speech.

When it was finally Louis' turn, Louis got up and stood in front of everyone, nervously shuffling his note cards.

"Um." Louis cleared his throat, eyes darting around the room. His eyes met Harry's, and Harry automatically gave him a reassuring smile. "Good afternoon, I'm Louis..."

Harry had to admit, Louis was a great debater. His points were excellent, and although his voice was soft, everyone was listening attentively to him. At the end of the debate, the adjudicator announced that Louis' team had won. Harry couldn't help smiling and feeling proud as he watched Louis and Niall hug, but he quickly wiped the smile off his face when a furious Nick stomped over.

"Hey, Nick."

"Hmph." Nick grabbed his bag, and tugged Harry out of the classroom. "Fucking nerds!"

"Don't be rude," Harry said, feeling the need to defend Louis and his team. "They just won this time, that's all."

"Come on, Harry! That win should've been ours! I mean, look at Louis Tomlinson! Normally he's so damn quiet and I thought it would be an easy win, but _his_ team won! What the hell!" Nick ranted.

Harry smiled a little bit at this. "Well, never judge a book by its cover."

"Yeah, whatever," Nick grumbled. "You'd think an ugly and annoying person like Tomlinson wouldn't be good at debate."

Harry resisted the urge to punch Nick. "Louis isn't ugly or annoying. He's pretty nice, actually."

Nick scowled at Harry. "I thought you would take my side." He then stormed away, leaving Harry in the hallway.

At that moment, Louis and Niall came out of the classroom. Harry turned around, and, without thinking, said, "Louis, you were really good!"

Louis flushed and looked surprised that Harry was talking to him. "Oh, um, thanks!"

"Congratulations on your win," Harry said cheerfully. "See you guys around later." He turned and walked away before he could turn into a complete nervous wreck.

As he left, he could hear Niall mumble something, then laugh loudly. He could also hear Louis whining, "Ni, don't!" and imagined the pout on Louis' face. He was just so cute.

*****

During the weekend, all Harry could think about was Louis.

Just _LouisLouisLouis_.

His older sister, Gemma, and his mum, Anne, had started noticing the fact that Harry had something on his mind. So Gemma walked into Harry's room, sat down on the bed, and said, "Spill."

"What?" Harry looked confused.

"You've got something on your mind, I can tell. So spill, Harold." Gemma crossed her legs and folded her arms. "I'm not leaving until you do."

Harry sighed. "Fine. I met this guy."

Gemma's eyes widened. "Oooohhh, I am _so_ ready to hear this."

Harry rolled his eyes. "His name is Louis Tomlinson, and he's, um, kinda perfect."

It was Gemma's turn to roll her eyes. "That's a cute way to describe someone, Harry, but it's not exactly helping me understand what he's like."

So Harry told Gemma all about Louis, about how he was so hot but adorable at the same time, how he was incredibly smart, how he was on the debate team and was so good at debating, how their first conversation had started when they were dissecting a frog.

Gemma listened to everything, smiling because she had never seen her brother like this. Eyes and voice going dreamy, describing Louis like he was the best person in the world. Yep, Harry was definitely whipped.

When Harry finished, Gemma's legs were cramped because she'd been stuck in that position for _ages_. Harry had taken absolutely forever to talk about Louis because he was so obsessed with the boy.

"Harry, I totally agree with Liam, you're so whipped," Gemma said, shaking her head while chuckling. "I've never seen you so in love with somebody before."

Harry grinned and blushed. "Um, thanks."

Gemma got up from Harry's bed and patted his thigh. "Well, thanks for spilling, little bro, but next time I don't need the details about Louis' eyelashes."

*****

At school, Harry was sure that he was falling in love with Louis more and more every day.

In every class harry had with Louis, it was hard to concentrate. Harry knew that he had to pay attention in class if he wanted to maintain his grades, but the two sat pretty close to each other and it was hard for Harry to focus when his eyes kept flitting to Louis.

Harry wished he'd never seen Louis. Wait - no - Harry didn't wish that. But Louis was taking up nearly every inch of his mind. Life would be easier if Louis wasn't in Harry's mind 24/7.

But when the football game came up, Louis didn't take up that much of Harry's mind anymore. Harry was the captain of the football team, and he was excited for the game. The season hadn't started yet, but their coach had organized a game between them and another school for practice.

On the day of the game, he and Liam were pumped. The game would take place after school, and Gemma and Anne would be coming to watch. Harry had to make sure that he didn't fail in front of his family, or else the teasing would _never_ stop. When they headed out onto the field, he could see that the crowd was pretty packed. He waved at Gemma and Anne, who waved back and shouted words of encouragement. He was feeling excited and nervous, but kept is cool as he gave his team a quick pep talk before the game started.

During halftime, Harry was already covered in sweat and was chugging water. His eyes wandered across the crowd, spotting lots of his friends here and there. Suddenly, he recognized a familiar pair of blue eyes.

Louis.

What was Louis doing at the game? And, here's the thing - Louis was watching _Harry_. They made eye contact and Louis looked away, blushing - but Harry was too shocked by Louis' presence to look away. He kept staring at Louis, dumbfounded, until Liam came over and snapped him out of his trance.

"Harry, what are you looking at?" Liam asked curiously. He followed Harry's eyes to a flushed Louis, and grinned. "Look, Harry! Your boyfriend came to support you!"

"He's not my boyfriend!" he whispered harshly, slapping Liam's arm. "But what is he doing here?"

"Watching the game," Liam said, shrugging. "Duh."

Harry noticed that Louis was sandwiched between Zayn and Niall, and Niall was waving at Ricky, one of Harry's teammates. Oh. Niall knew Ricky, Ricky probably invited Niall to come, and Niall's two best friends had come to tag along.

So Louis wasn't here to watch Harry after all. Not like Harry thought he _was_ , but the glimmer of hope in his chest when he first saw Louis just resulted in a whole lot of disappointment. He sighed and turned away.

For the rest of the game, Harry played harder than ever before. Louis was there, and Harry had to make himself look good in front of him. Liam noticed that Harry was even more serious than before, and smirked knowingly. Gemma, who had seen Harry staring at Louis, noticed as well and couldn't help but laugh at how determined her little brother was at impressing his crush.

When they won the game, Harry couldn't help grinning and looking up at Louis. They made eye contact and they both looked away, blushing again, and Harry noticed Louis mumbling something to Zayn.

After he'd showered and changed, he met up with Gemma and Anne at the parking lot. Liam was there as well, to say hi.

"Good job, Harry," Anne said proudly. Sometimes, when she looked up at the curly-haired boy, she still couldn't believe he had grown up so fast. It seemed like yesterday he was in diapers, and now he was the captain of the football team who had just won a match.

"Thanks, Mum," Harry said, beaming.

"Obviously you did well since your boyfriend came," Gemma teased. Gemma and Liam both laughed at this, but Anne's eyes widened.

"Your boyfriend?"

Harry turned bright red. "He's not my boyfriend!"

Gemma and Liam laughed harder.

Anne looked at the two laughing, and then looked at her son, who had taken on the appearance of a tomato. "Are you guys not telling me something?"

"Harry's got a crush on this boy, Louis," Gemma began. Then, her eyes widened and she pointed in the direction of three boys. "There! He's right there! The small one with the blue eyes and the oversized hoodie."

The three boys were Niall, Louis and Zayn, who were leaving the school. Harry's eyes followed Louis as the trio left the parking lot. Louis was looking around, and suddenly saw harry. The two boys immediately looked away, blushing.

Anne watched the exchange with wide eyes, and laughed, "Harry, you're so whipped, dear."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please give me your thoughts, opinions and feedback! they would be highly appreciated .x


	3. Chapter 3

"Today you'll be working in groups to finish a worksheet, and I'm giving you guys the entire period to do it. Get the worksheet and I'll tell you who your group mates are."

Harry sighed, getting up along with the rest of the class to grab a worksheet from Mr. Jackson's desk. He was still tired out from the football game - both mentally and physically - and he wasn't really in the mood to do group work. Most of the time he just ended up doing it by himself while the others copied his work, and it annoyed him. He grabbed the worksheet and returned to his seat, ready to move once the groups had been called.

"Styles, Malik, Tomlinson..." Jackson rattled off the paper he held in his hand.

Harry stopped listening to the rest of the sentence once he'd heard Louis' name. Crap. Harry was to do a group task with Louis, and he wasn't sure if he was supposed to be happy or not - he'd always dreamed of getting put into a group with Louis, but being in the presence of someone so perfect was absolutely nerve-wracking.

He watched as Louis picked up a pen and a worksheet, looked at Zayn, and headed towards the corner where the rest of their group had gathered. A flash of jealousy shot through harry when he saw Zayn sidle up beside Louis, so close that their hands were touching.

Harry sighed, grabbed his things, and headed over to the group, trying to prepare himself for working with Louis. The group grabbed some chairs and sat down in a circle, with Harry sitting opposite of Louis and Louis sitting next to Zayn. As far as Harry knew, Louis was best friends with Niall and Zayn. From that biology lesson, Harry knew that Niall and Louis weren't dating - but he had no idea about Louis and Zayn.

Zayn Malik was incredibly attractive, no doubt. All of the girls - and the guys - drooled all over him, especially since he was so cool and chill and didn't seem to be in any of the school's cliques, making him seem so mysterious.

Harry groaned inwardly in frustration. He wished Zayn wasn't so mysterious - if he was more of an open book, it would be so much easier for Harry to find out if Zayn and Louis were dating. They were so quiet and mysterious and kept to themselves, and it would take a lot of digging for Harry to find out anything about them.

"So." One of their group mates cleared his throat. "What are we supposed to do again?"

Harry answered promptly, "Discuss the life of Shakespeare and answer the questions on the worksheet."

From the corner of his eye, Harry could see that Louis wasn't looking at him, and it didn't look like he was even listening to Harry, either. Disappointed, Harry started to read the worksheet. Throughout the group discussion, Louis didn't say anything at all, unless he was asked specifically. He and Zayn just scribbled down on their worksheets like it was pair work - mumbling and discussing together while ignoring everyone else.

Harry watched them helplessly, wishing they would contribute their ideas to the group - partially because Harry was having a hard time trying to discuss with people who didn't know anything, and partially because Harry wanted to hear Louis' voice.

When the bell rang, Louis and Zayn got up together and left together. Harry was feeling extremely jealous now, and forgot to wait for Nick when he left the classroom.

During lunch, Harry kept staring at Louis and Zayn at their lunch table. He could see them laughing and talking, and Zayn had one arm slung over Louis' shoulder. They looked like they were close.

Really close.

 _Dating_ close.

"Hey, Styles, I'm talking to you!"

"Huh?" Startled, Harry snapped out of his daze.

"I _said_ , why didn't you wait for me after English class? We always leave together, don't we?" Nick demanded.

Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Sure, Nick was a good friend of his, but he could be kind of annoying sometimes. He could be snobbish and rude to anyone who wasn't his friend - sometimes he was even snobbish and rude to his own friends - and Harry didn't like him very much at times, but they'd known each others for years and Harry felt obliged to be nice to Nick.

"Well, uh, I was thinking about the worksheet and I kind of forgot to wait for you," Harry said, hoping his excuse sounded believable. He _had_ forgot to wait for Nick - but it wasn't the worksheet he had been thinking about. "Sorry."

Nick folded his arms. "Well, you better remember next time, Styles."

"Sure." Harry glanced over at Liam, hoping to start a conversation with him. He didn't really want to talk to Nick anymore, and besides, Liam might know something about Louis and Zayn.

"Li, do you know if Zayn Malik is into girls or boys or both?" Harry asked quietly, so the rest of the table wouldn't hear.

"He's into boys," Liam replied almost automatically. Harry stared at him. Uncomfortable, Liam said, "What?"

"How'd you know?" Harry asked incredulously. He hadn't _actually_ expected an answer from Liam. "Zayn is so quiet and mysterious, how'd you know that? I mean, I expected I needed to do some deep digging, but how did you just know?"

Liam shrugged. "I just do, Harry. Why do you want to know Zayn's sexuality anyway?"

Remembering why he asked in the first place, Harry glanced over at Louis' table. "I just - Louis and Zayn seem to have something going on."

Liam looked over as well, and the two watched as Zayn tapped Louis' nose affectionately, making Louis scrunch up cutely. Harry was about to explode from the jealousy.

"Oh," Liam said softly. "Well, I don't know."

"If Zayn is into boys, then he might be dating Louis," Harry said, gripping the table tightly.

"Just because they're both gay and they're best friends doesn't mean they're dating," Liam commented. "You never know."

Harry sighed. "That's what's killing me." There was a momentary silence before Harry remembered something. "By the way, Li, my mum invited you to have a picnic with us this weekend, to celebrate the win."

"Sure, I'll come." Liam dipped a French fry into the ketchup and grinned. "Your mum makes great sandwiches."

*****

On Sunday, Harry, Liam, Gemma and Anne strolled into the park. They found a spot under a large tree, and set their things down.

"Come on, boys, lay out the blanket," Anne instructed, handing Harry and Liam a folded up sheet while Gemma took out the plastic containers of food they had made earlier.

"Honestly, you guys are really the best cooks," Liam said, once they'd set up and were sitting on the sheet, ready to eat. "Every single time I eat a home meal with you guys it's like I'm in a five-star restaurant."

"Thank you, Liam," Anne said, a warm smile on her face. "Eat up, guys."

The meal was indeed delicious, and the four spent a great afternoon together, chatting and laughing. Afterwards, Harry and Liam decided to take a walk while Gemma and Anne went home. They were discussing football tactics when Harry heard a familiar voice and froze.

"Daisy! Are you ready?"

That raspy, high-pitched voice could only belong to one person. _Louis Tomlinson._

Harry spun around wildly, trying to see where Louis was, and spotted him at the playground, standing at the bottom of the slide and looking up at at a little girl who was sitting at the top of the slide. The little girl - Daisy, presumably - grinned. She resembled Louis, and Harry realized that she was probably Louis' sister. "I'm ready!" she called.

"Okay, come on!"

Daisy pushed off and slid down the slide, and when she reached the bottom, Louis caught her, held her up, and spun her around.

"Wheeee!" Louis said in a silly high-pitched voice, which Harry found absolutely adorable.

Louis put Daisy down, who was giggling madly. "Again! Again!"

"No! It's my turn!" Another little girl, who looked exactly like Daisy, ran over to them. "You said I could play after Daisy did, right?"

"Yes, okay, come on then, Pheebs."

Liam nudged Harry. "Dude. You've been staring for way too long, and we're standing right in the middle of the path, blocking people."

"I can't help it," Harry mumbled. They shifted over so that they weren't blocking the path, found a large tree to hide behind, and continued not-so-discreetly watching Louis and his little sisters.

The other little girl came hurtling down the slide, and squealed once Louis picked her up and spun her 'round. Louis stopped after a while, starting to put the little girl down, but she gripped onto him tightly.

"Noooooo, I love spinnies!" She wrapped her arms around Louis' neck. "And I love LouLou!"

LouLou. Damn. That was cute.

Louis laughed and hugged the little girl tightly. "I love you too, Phoebe." He kissed the tip of her nose and set her down. "But you and Daisy are growing and you two are a _little_ too heavy now."

The twins gasped in horror.

At that moment, two other girls walked over to them. All of them resembled Louis, and Harry knew that these two girls were also Louis' sisters.

"Don't worry, girls, even if you're heavy Louis can still spin you 'round and 'round," one assured them.

"But, Lottie, spinning won't be as fun if Louis thinks we're heavy!" Daisy protested.

Lottie snorted. "Trust me, it's just as fun. Sometimes I make him spin me around and I watch his muscles die while he's trying to lift me. Great entertainment."

"Hey, Lotts, don't be corrupting the kiddos now," Louis reprimanded, lightly smacking his sister's arm. "I thought you and Fizzy were eating?"

Fizzy - the other girl - shrugged. "Couldn't miss out on the fun, could we? I can still remember the days when we were as tiny as the twins and you played with us."

A fond expression came across Louis' face. "Yeah, me too." he seemed to go into another world, and his eyes glazed over.

Harry watched as the four girls nudged each other, then suddenly tackled Louis. He yelped as they started tickling him, laughing as he tried to push their hands away. "G-girls, s-stop it!" he giggled. When they finally did, he was bright red and gasping for air.

"You guys have to stop tickling me!" he said, pouting. Harry was going to die from the cuteness overload.

Lottie laughed. "We can't, you're very cute when you're tickled, even if you are our older brother."

Louis rolled his eyes. "You guys are so mean, I'm going back." He playfully stomped off, and the girls ran after him.

Harry had always found Louis adorable, but watching him interact with his siblings made him even more adorable in Harry's eyes. He was so sweet and kind and loving to his little sisters, he seemed like the perfect brother. Which made things worse, because now Harry had more things to add onto the list of _Why Louis Tomlinson Is Perfect And I Am Not Enough For Him._ It was a pretty long list.

"Harry, you look like a fish, gaping like that. Close your mouth." Liam was holding back his laughter. "We should keep walking."

"Okay. The pair continued walking, but all Harry could think about was _LouisLouisLouis._

*****

The week passed by rather comfortably. Nothing special happened between Louis and Harry - they'd made eye contact a couple times (about twenty eight times, actually, because Harry kept count) but they hadn't said anything to each other.

It was Friday, and Harry was feeling good. He was sure it was going to be a good day. After school, he was going skating with his friends and all he needed to do was survive history. Aside from the fact that Louis was in his history class, Harry was sure everything was going to be fine.

In history, their teacher, Mr. Andrews, decided that the class was to do worksheets in groups. "I'll let you pick your own groups, get your worksheets and get to work," Andrews said.

Harry went up to the front desk to get a worksheet, and made eye contact with Liam.

 _Group?_ Liam mouthed.

 _Group_. Harry nodded. He looked around to see who else they could work with, making eye contact with several of his friends, mouthing _Group?_ , and grinning when they nodded.

Harry, Liam, Cara, Demi and Stan headed over to a corner in the classroom, and Harry passed by a familiar mop of brown, fluffy hair.

_Louis._

Harry glanced over at him, and saw that Louis was sitting alone at his desk, staring at the worksheet. Harry remembered that neither Zayn nor Niall was in their history class, meaning that Louis didn't really know anyone else and didn't know who to be in a group with. Harry felt sorry for Louis, especially because Harry was sure Louis was the kind of adorable, sweet and charming person who everyone liked, but he was just too shy and quiet.

Should Harry ask Louis to be in their group? Harry didn't want Louis to sit and be lonely for the entire period, but if Louis was in their group, Harry would freak out and would probably say something really dumb and stupid and make Louis hate him.

Swallowing, Harry sat down, still watching Louis. Harry should ask him to join their group. Yes, he definitely should - Niall and Zayn weren't around, meaning that this was Harry's chance to get closer to Louis while his two intimidating best friends weren't right next to him. In English and biology, Louis had either Zayn or Niall with him, and they would sit together and talk together, giving Harry zero chances to say anything to Louis because Zayn or Niall would be staring at him, making him nervous.

So this was his chance. Without Zayn or Niall, Louis would _have_ to contribute to the group discussion (unlike last time), right? Besides, it would just be plain mean to leave him alone like that. Harry opened his mouth, about to call Louis over, when Jack ran to Louis' desk and asked, "Hey, Louis. Wanna join our group?"

Looking surprised, Louis nodded. "Um, sure." He grabbed his stuff and headed over to Jack's group.

Well.

Harry glared at Jack. He'd just mustered the courage to get Louis to join his group and Jack had went and ruined it!

Stan cleared his throat. "Harry, you okay?"

Harry turned to face his group, and quickly said, "Yeah, I'm fine."

He was met by four pairs of raised eyebrows.

"You were staring at Louis Tomlinson," Demi said. "What's up with that?"

Harry turned bright red. Demi, Cara and Stan were all his close friends, but he wasn't sure if he wanted them to know about his crazy infatuation with the blue-eyed boy. "Um. Nothing?"

Cara snorted. "Harry. That's a lie. Are you crushing on Louis Tomlinson?"

Silent, Harry turned even redder. He coughed. "Um. Well."

Liam rolled his eyes. "Yes, he's crushing on him. It's kind of obvious, innit?"

Demi smirked. "Well, I never thought the mighty Harry Styles would have a silly schoolboy crush, but I can see why. Louis Tomlinson is a fine piece of art."

"It's not a silly schoolboy crush, Harry is _obsessed_ with him," Liam said. "You're lucky you're not his best friend, I'm tired of hearing how absolutely _perfect_ Louis is everyday."

Stan laughed. "Harry, you're so whipped."

*****

When the class was over, Harry stuffed his things into his bag and waited for Liam, Cara, Demi and Stan. They were going ice skating along with Nick, Adrian, Taylor and Selena, and Harry was excited.

He wasn't a very _good_ skater, but he loved ice skating with his friends. It reminded him of the times in elementary when he and Liam would go together. Ice skating was kind of a symbol of friendship to him, and it had a special place in his heart.

"You ready to have fun?" Harry grinned at Liam.

"Always." Liam shouldered his bag and returned the smile.

Ice skating with the gang had gone pretty well, surprisingly. Most of the time, Harry would just go with Liam, and he rarely ever brought a gang of friends, but today had been a good day. There had been a lot of falling down and hanging onto each other, but there had also been a lot of laughing and giggles and jokes and a genuinely good time with his friends.

Tired, he went back home with Liam in tow - the brown-eyed boy had been invited for dinner at the Styles' house.

"So, Harry," Gemma said seriously once they'd all been seated and had begun eating. "How's it going with Louis?"

Harry choked on his food and it took several pats on the back from Liam until he could speak. "What?"

"I _said_ , how's it going with Louis? After the football game I haven't heard anything about you two." Gemma watched with a smirk on her face as her brother blushed furiously.

"Well. Um." Harry cleared his throat. "Nothing's happened."

"That's a lie," Liam informed Gemma and Anne. "On the day of the picnic we saw Louis with his little sisters, then today in history, Harry was about to ask Louis to join our group but Jack got there first."

"Ooohhhh." Gemma wriggled her eyebrows. "Looks like you got a little competition there, Haz."

Harry groaned and covered his face with his hands. "Stop it, Gems."

"How can I stop when my baby brother is being all grown up and crushing on a boy?" Gemma teased.

Anne laughed. "Well, Harry, have you even talked to him yet?"

"Once or twice only," Harry admitted. "He's kind of hard to talk to, he's quiet and shy and I don't even have enough courage to initiate a conversation."

Gemma shook her head. "You _have_ to get closer to him! How do you expect him to fall in love with someone he doesn't even know?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "But I'm _scared_ \- like he's so perfect and if I say something he'll think I'm stupid and weird."

Anne placed a hand on Harry's. "You're not supposed to look perfect in front of him. Just show him who you really are! I mean, if you try being all perfect and mysterious, don't you think he'll find _you_ intimidating?"

Harry held back a snort of laughter. "Mum, that was so cheesy. The whole 'show him who you really are' thing."

Anne shrugged. "Well, I'm right. Make a move, dear, before someone else does."


	4. Chapter 4

_ Make a move before someone else does. _

Anne's words stuck with Harry throughout the next week, ringing loud in his head whenever he saw Louis.

The boy seemed to grow more attractive every day and Harry was losing his mind. How was he supposed to make a move? All he could do was watch Louis from afar, fantasizing what if would be like to Louis' boyfriend.

Heck, Harry would love to just be Louis' platonic friend. Just to be able to talk to Louis and hang out with him would be Harry's dream come true. But all Harry could do was stare. If staring intensely at Louis Tomlinson was a competitive sport, Harry would be winning. But it wasn't and the only thing Harry was winning at was making himself fall harder and harder for the blue-eyed boy.

Harry was tempted to go to the library and find a book called  _ How To Make A Hot Guy Fall In Love With You Even Though He Is Too Perfect For You _ because he seriously needed some real and professional guidance. He was sure there was no way he could make Louis fall in love with him, because why would a gorgeous, perfect, beautiful blue-eyed angel fall in love with an idiot frog?

Harry usually had a charm around other people. He made friends easily and people liked him. He could make friends with anyone he wanted, because who wouldn't want to be the friend of a popular jock like Harry?

But with Louis, Harry had zero luck. Louis wasn't like other people - he was so quiet and mysterious and Harry had never tried making friends with people like that. He was pretty sure he would fail if he tried - he'd be a stuttering mess before he could even say a proper sentence.

"I hate this," he groaned, slamming his textbook on the table. He and Liam were at Harry's house, studying.

"What?" Liam asked, looking up from his textbook.

"I hate the fact that I can't get closer to Louis because he's so intimidating," Harry said.

"He's not intimidating. Have you seen him? He's cute and adorable and shy and everything, you just think he's intimidating because he's quiet and mysterious. He's like a hedgehog."

"A hedgehog?" Harry looked confused.

Liam rolled his eyes. "Come on, Haz. Hedgehogs look dangerous from the outside because they're prickly but in reality they're so cute and soft and cuddly. Just like Louis."

"Ohhhhh." Harry nodded slowly. "I get it."

"All you need to do is initiate more conversation with Louis instead of staring at him all day," Liam said, returning to his textbook.

"But he'll think I'm stupid and -"

"Come on, it doesn't really matter if he thinks you're stupid in the beginning," Liam cut him off. "Imagine if you guys got married and had kids - it would be a great story to tell, right?  _ When I first met your dad I thought he was the biggest idiot in the world! _ "

Harry suddenly turned bright red, and said in a small voice, "Get married and have kids with Louis?" He envisioned him and Louis with a family, and his heart thumped rapidly.

"Oh for goodness' sake, look at this little lovesick fool." Liam couldn't help but smile at the expression on Harry's face. "You're blushing so hard at the mention of marrying Louis and starting a family with him."

Harry could only grin at him.

*****

"I hate this!" Harry groaned again, a couple hours later.

"Hm?" Liam looked up from his textbook again, yawning. He was so tired.

"I hate studying. This is so stupid, I'm going to fail this test, why do we even need to have a test?" Harry complained. "I'm just gonna give up, I'm going to fail anyway."

Liam furrowed his eyebrows. "Come on, dude, don't lose hope. Hey, Louis' really smart, right? Obviously you can't fail this test, you've got to get high marks to impress him."

Harry gasped in realization. "Oh, yeah! I've gotta study, study, study for Louis."

Liam smirked as he watched Harry dive back into his textbook, shaking his head fondly. "You're so whipped, man."

*****

The next day, Harry and Liam arrived at school, both of them doing last-minute revision as they walked to their history class.

"The Embargo Act was signed in 1807," Harry mumbled to himself, trying to cram all of the information and dates into his head.

He looked up from his textbook, breath hitching when he saw Louis chatting with Chris outside their History classroom. He narrowed his eyes. Why were they talking?

When Chris saw Harry and Liam, he grinned and waved them over. "Harry! Liam! Over here!"

Harry and Liam slowly made their way to Chris and Louis, Harry trying to take even breaths as he got closer and closer to the man of his dreams.

"Are you guys ready for the test? I'm not," Chris said.

"We revised for hours last night, but we're still not ready," Liam yawned.

"Well, Lou here is definitely ready, aren't ya, buddy?" Chris slung his arm around Louis, making Harry breathe in sharply, eyeing Louis and Chris intently.

"No I'm not, Louis said, blushing and looking at his shoes. Harry cooed silently at this, smiling at Louis' adorableness.

"He definitely is," Chris informed Harry and Liam. "He's an absolute genius, too smart for his own good."

"No I'm not," Louis mumbled again, blushing harder.

"He's also absolutely adorable," Chris said, grinning at Louis.

Harry resisted the urge to punch Chris in the face.

Luckily, Mr. Andrews arrived, and Chris unslung his arm from Louis' shoulder as they entered the classroom.

"Take out your pens, start the test once I tell you to," Mr. Andrews instructed once they were all seated, handing out the papers.

Harry stared at his paper, clicking his pen nervously.  _ Gotta impress _ _ Louis _ , he thought to himself, flipping the paper over once Mr. Andrews yelled, "Start!"

*****

Once the test was over, the class exited the classroom, chatting about the test. Liam reached harry and looked at him reproachfully.

"What?" Harry ran through all the things he'd done that morning, and none of them should've angered Liam.

"Louis was right next to you and you didn't make any conversation at all, you just stared at him like an idiot," Liam grumbled. "I'm thoroughly annoyed."

"Well, I was trying to remember the stuff for the test, if I talked to Louis I would completely forget everything," Harry defended himself.

"Hmph." Liam crossed his arms. "I'm still mad."

Harry rolled his eyes and grabbed Liam's arm. "Come on, Li, we have to get to class."

In their next class, the teacher gave them a bit of free time so everyone was chilling and chatting with each other.

Harry and Liam were sitting at their desks, talking about their next football game, when Chris bounded over and sat down next to them.

"Hi guys!" he said, grinning. "How was the test?"

"Hard, but at least I studied," Harry said, not really caring. He was slightly annoyed at Chris from their earlier encounter and he wished Chris would just go away.

"Liam?" Chris turned to the puppy-eyed boy, who shrugged and said, "Same as Harry, I guess."

"Lucky," Chris said. "I thought it was way too hard and I totally did not study. Luckily Louis helped me out with some last-minute revision though."

Harry's eyes shot up at the mention of Louis and he furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you really good friends with him or something?"

"Not really, I just got to know him a couple weeks ago but he's really hot and all." Chris was completely obliviously to Harry's heated glare. "Honestly I think I might be crushing on him, I might ask him out."

Liam, noticing that Harry was too angry to speak, quickly said, "You've only known him for a couple weeks, you think he's gonna say yes?"

Chris frowned at this. "I'm not sure about that, but it doesn't hurt to try. I'm trying my best to get closer to him. He's a really awesome guy once you get to know him."

Harry was about to murder Chris, but luckily another person from across the room called Chris over, and he left before harry could punch him.

"Haz?" Liam looked at Harry cautiously once Chris had left. Harry was going red, his knuckles white from his clenched fists. "You okay?"

"I hate Chris," Harry growled. "Fucker."

Liam sighed. "Look, man, this just proves my point. You don't make a move, somebody else is going to make a move. We know about Chris, but I'm pretty sure he isn't Louis' only admirer. look around, there's a lot of guys who probably like him."

Harry swallowed. He hated the thought of Louis being with any other guy except himself. "I know, but I'm just so nervous. I really  _ want _ to get closer to Louis, but I just can't. You don't understand."

Liam bit his lip. "A-actually, I kinda do."

Harry tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Liam cleared his throat, looked around nervously, leaned in, and whispered, "I-I kind of have a crush on Zayn."

Harry's eyes widened. "Oh my God," he squeaked like a schoolboy. "You have a crush on Zayn!"

"Hey, keep it down," Liam hissed, slapping a hand across Harry's mouth.

"Sorry, sorry," Harry mumbled, but his eyes still shone with excitement. "It all makes sense now."

"What makes sense?"

"How you knew Zayn was gay!" Harry explained. "Because I asked you and you immediately knew the answer, I thought it would take a bit of digging to find out but you knew because you'd already done the digging, didn't you?"

Liam blushed. "Yeah, I guess."

Harry giggled. "Liam's got a crushhhh!"

Liam rolled his eyes. "Haz. When I realized you had a crush I wasn't this bad."

"Sorry." Harry tried to keep a straight face but failed miserably. "I'm super serious."

Liam shook his head in exasperation, but he couldn't help smiling at the childishness of his best friend.

*****

Harry was walking down the hallway when he saw Louis talking to Niall by the lockers. Louis' back was facing him and Harry was rather disappointed, because it meant he couldn't see his face. From what Harry could hear, Louis and Niall were talking about hanging out on the weekend with Louis' sisters.

_ Lucky Niall _ , Harry thought.

"Harry!" Nick yelled from across the hallway.

Harry's eyes flitted to Nick, but quickly glanced back at Louis, hoping that Louis would turn around once he heard harry's name.

Louis didn't.

Sighing, Harry trudged towards Nick. "Hey, Grimshaw."

While Nick chattered on about who-knows-what, Harry zoned out and kept thinking about Louis. Chris was thinking about asking Louis out. How dare he? But then again, Louis had every reason to choose Chris over Harry.

Chris was something of a friend to Louis. They were getting closer, and although Louis seemed a little reluctant, Chris' bubbly and cheerful personality would probably soon break down Louis' walls. And Chris was pretty attractive, so Louis would probably agree to go on a date with him.

Harry didn't want that. He wanted the adorable blue-eyed boy to himself, but he knew he couldn't if he didn't make a move on Louis.

But  _ how _ ?

Harry had dated before, but it hadn't been anything serious. He hadn't been infatuated with any of his other partners like he was with Louis. Harry had made a move on his exes, winning them over with his charm and looks. He'd been  _ confident _ .

Now, he was anything  _ but _ confident. He was terrified and he had no idea what to do.

"Harry." Nick dragged out the 'y'. "Are you listening?"

"Hmm?" Harry snapped out of his thoughts and quickly turned to Nick. "Come again?"

"I  _ said _ ," Nick repeated, "You look tired and frazzled. You should probably take a day off, you look like hell."

"I've been studying a lot lately for the history test," Harry yawned. "I'm exhausted."

"Since when do you study? I've never seen you pay so much attention to schoolwork before." Nick looked at Harry curiously. Obviously, Harry couldn't tell Nick that he was trying to get smarter to impress Louis, so Harry just shrugged.

"My mom wants me to try harder, I guess," Harry lied.

"Hmm." Nick nodded, seeming to accept Harry's explanation. "Well, studying is boring as hell and I can't do it."

"Yeah, it was hard not to give up in the first hour," Harry admitted.

"By the way, did you see Chris? He's been warming up to Tomlinson for some reason, probably wants to ask him out."

Harry clenched his fist and tried to keep calm. "Oh, really?"

"Yep," Nick continued, "Though I don't see why anyone would want to date Louis Tomlinson. He looks like a rat."

Harry considered punching Nick in the face but refrained from it - instead, he resorted to giving Nick the death glare, but Nick didn't seem to notice.

"I don't think he looks so bad, actually," Harry said.

Nick snorted. "Look at him! His hair's a mess, but people think it's cool. He dresses in oversized hoodies and sweatshirts and black skinny jeans. No fashion sense."

Harry was about to say that Nick dressed in shirts and black skinny jeans too, but luckily Cara popped up out of nowhere.

"Hi guys!"

"Hey, Cara," Harry said, relieved that someone else was there so he didn't have to face Nick's annoying chatter alone.

"What are you guys talking about?" Cara asked.

"Louis Tomlinson," Nick informed her. "Chris is crushing on him but he really isn't that good looking, he looks like a rat."

"He actually doesn't look so bad." Harry gritted his teeth.

Cara cast Harry a knowing smirk.

*****

On the weekend, Harry decided to go to the mall by himself. The last time he'd gone, he'd seen a really nice shirt and he wanted to buy it.

Once he'd bought his shirt, he was wandering around the mall when he heard a girl crying. He followed the sounds to find a little girl who - somehow - looked very familiar. She was standing in the mall hallway, bawling her eyes out. Harry walked over quickly and knelt down.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked gently.

The girl's crying subsided a little bit and she told Harry tearfully, "I can't find my family!"

"What's your name, honey?"

"Phoebe."

So  _ that's _ why the girl looked so familiar. Harry recognized her now - she was Louis' little sister!

"Who did you come to the mall with?" Harry could see Louis' eyes and nose in Phoebe's face.

"My sisters and Blondie and my LouLou," Phoebe said, wailing again. "I want my LouLou!"

"Hey, hey, it's okay, we'll find your LouLou," Harry said soothingly. He took his phone out, but he didn't have Louis' number. He then remembered the conversation he heard Niall and Louis have - about Louis and Niall hanging out with Louis' sisters - Niall was the person Phoebe called Blondie! And he had Niall's number!

Taking a deep breath, he pressed Niall's contact and held his phone up to his ear.

"Hi, Harry, what's up?" a breathless Irish voice answered. "I'm really busy right now, I'll call you back -"

"Niall, are you with Louis?" Harry interrupted, one hand stroking Phoebe's back in an effort to calm her down.

There was a pause, then Niall said confusedly, "Uh, yeah. How'd you know?"

Harry wasn't about to tell Niall he had eavesdropped, so he lied, "Just asking. Um, Louis has a little sister called Phoebe, right?"

"Yes! But she's missing right now, we're trying to find her and we're all panicking -"

"Um, well I found her and she's with me right now." Harry could hear Niall's sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness. Where are you guys right now?"

Harry looked around and quickly told him their location.

"We're close, we'll be there in a couple of minutes," Niall said before hanging up.

Harry turned to Phoebe and gave her a reassuring smile. "I've called Niall, they're coming to get you."

Phoebe's tears stopped and she stared at Harry. "How do you know NiNi?"

"Oh, um." Harry scratched his head. "We're classmates."

"How'd you know to call him?"

Harry swallowed uncomfortably.  _ I'm obsessed with your brother and secretly saw your family playing in the park. _ "I don't know, you just... looked like Louis, I guess."

"You know LouLou?" Phoebe said excitedly.

Harry shrugged, trying not to blush. "Kind of. I mean, I don't have his number or anything, that's why I called Niall instead."

"What's your name?"

"Harry."

"Can I touch your hair?"

"Uh, sure."

Phoebe reached out her small hands and played with Harry's curls. Harry watched, a smile on his face. Phoebe was braiding Harry's hair and her tongue was sticking out of her mouth a little, reminding him of Louis.

There was suddenly a loud thundering of fast footsteps, and Harry looked up to see Niall, Louis, Lottie, Fizzy, and Daisy running towards them.

"LouLou!" Phoebe said happily.

"Pheebs, thank God," Louis said in relief, reaching down and picking Phoebe up. Phoebe wrapped her arms around Louis' neck and buried her face into the crook of Louis' neck, snuggling into him. "You okay?"

"Yep," Phoebe mumbled. She then looked up and grinned at Harry. " 'arry helped me, he called Blondie NiNi."

"Yeah, we know," Niall said, looking at Harry. "Harry, thank you so much."

"No big deal," Harry said shrugging. "Just doing what anyone would do."

"Thank you  _ so  _ much," Louis' soft voice said, his voice sincere and endearing. Harry fought the blush that was creeping into his cheeks.  _ Louis talked to him _ .

"LouLou?" Phoebe pulled back a little from Louis so she could look at him.

"Hmm?"

"Harry said he doesn't have your phone number."

Louis turned red. "U-uhm, no, he doesn't."

"Why not?" Phoebe pouted.

"C-cause he d-doesn't need it," Louis stuttered, flushed. Harry watched with a fond smile as Louis struggled to get the words out. Niall had an evil smirk on his face.

" _ Actually _ , Harry, I think it's best if you get Louis' number. You know, in case one of these little munchkins -" Niall pointed to Louis' sisters "- ever get lost again. I mean, I'm not with Louis all the time. Better if you call the big brother himself."

_ YES!!! _ Harry screamed internally. Externally, however, he tried his best to keep calm and said, "Sure." He handed his phone to Louis so he could insert his number.

Blushing like crazy, Louis put Phoebe down and took Harry's phone, fingers trembling as he put his number in, then handed the phone back to Harry.

"Thanks," Harry said, pocketing his phone. His heart was beating crazy fast.  _ Louis Tomlinson gave me his number. Louis Tomlinson touched my phone. I touched my phone. So technically I touched his hand. Wow. Wowowow. I'm in love with Louis Tomlinson. _

Louis' cheeks were pink and he was looking at his shoes, not meeting Harry's eyes. Harry decided it was time to go. "Well, see you guys at school," he said.

"Bye, Harry," Niall said. "Thanks again!"

"Bye," Louis mumbled.

"Bye, Harry!" the girls squealed.

Harry flashed them a grin and waved before walking away, heart thumping.

He had Louis Tomlinson's number.

Holy shit.


	5. Chapter 5

Liam was ecstatic when Harry told him that he'd gotten Louis' number.

"Dude, that's awesome!" he said, grinning. "And Niall just outed Louis!"

"What?" Harry tilted his head, confused. "Listen. Niall purposely made Louis give you his number. You said Niall was smirking like crazy, right? And Louis was blushing. Which means that Louis has a crush on you and Niall knew about it, so he saw the opportunity for you to get Louis' number," Liam explained.

"No way," Harry said, heart beating. "Louis can't have a crush on me."

"Why not? Harry, you're popular and you're pretty good-looking, too. It wouldn't be a big surprise if Louis liked you, because there are a  _ lot _ of people in this school who have a crush on you." Liam smirked. "From looking at that and Niall's actions, Louis probably has a crush on you."

Harry blushed. "B-but he's so perfect. If he was going to crush on somebody, he would crush on somebody a lot better than me."

Liam rolled his eyes. "Where's your self-confidence? Anyway, I'm telling you, Louis Tomlinson has a crush on you."

*****

The entire day, Harry was consumed with debating on whether Louis liked him or not. If Louis did, it would explain why he would get all blushy and shy when he and Harry made eye contact. But, then again - Louis was overall an incredibly shy person, and maybe he blushed whenever he made eye contact with people he didn't know.

And Niall - maybe Niall wanted Louis to be more social and thought that Louis getting Harry's number would be a good start. After all - Harry had the reputation of being the school's outgoing golden boy.

But - what if? What if Louis actually liked Harry? Harry just melted at the thought. That would be his dream come true - giving harry a chance at dating Louis.

_ Dating Louis _ . Harry felt himself blushing and smiling giddily at the thought as he walked down the hallways.

Then he spotted Louis and Chris talking.

Harry's blood boiled. Who was Chris Daxter to talk with Louis? But he saw Louis' face, and his heart sunk.

Louis was  _ blushing _ . With the same exact embarrassed yet cute look on his face he had every time Louis and Harry made eye contact.

The worst thing was, Louis was blushing  _ while he was talking to Chris. _ So Louis definitely didn't have a crush on Harry - he probably had a crush on Chris.

Harry was hit with overwhelming disappointment. He trudged to his locker and opened it, sighing as he shoved his books inside and slammed it shut. Well, it's not like he was  _ expecting _ Louis to have a crush on him. But - well - Harry had really hoped that it was true. Now that it obviously wasn't, he just wished Liam had never put the idea in his head in the first place.

When Liam saw Harry's grumpy face, he asked, "What's wrong?"

Harry explained what he'd seen in the hallway, and Liam bit his lip. He was still convinced that Louis liked Harry, but it wasn't like he could explain why Louis had been blushing when he talked to Chris.

"Don't give up hope, Harry," Liam said, "Really, you never know."

But Harry had already lost all hope. Louis, the perfect, beautiful, intelligent boy, would never like him, as a friend or otherwise.

*****

Harry had been practicing football with his team everyday after school, and soon managed to get Louis off his mind. They would start recruiting soon and everyone wanted to be in their best shape so they could continue being in the football team.

He was constantly tired and sleepy and he tried his best to focus in class, but it was difficult. He was tired out from all the football practice and he kept falling asleep in class. He'd fallen asleep in English, and, unluckily for him, Mr. Jackson had been explaining their final exam to them in that period.

Even worse, all the people that Harry had asked weren't sure about the finals either. Just Harry's luck - he was friends with the people that didn't pay attention.

However... Louis was in Harry's English class, and Harry was sure that Louis knew what Mr. Jackson had said. And Harry had Louis' number.

But - Harry didn't want to ask Louis. It would just prove to Louis that Harry was an ignorant, stupid student. However, he needed the information. Sighing, Harry grabbed his phone and texted Liam.

_ harry the frog: liam, i need your help _

_ lima bean: what now? _

_ harry the frog: need to ask someone about the english finals 'cause i fell asleep in class. i asked everyone and no one knows. i think only louis does _

_ lima bean: well ask him _

_ harry the frog: it's gonna make me look ignorant _

_ lima bean: you want to look a little ignorant or do you wanna look like a complete fool when you fail your exam _

_ harry the frog: i guess you're right _

_ lima bean: tell me how it goes! feed my larry heart _

_ harry the frog: shut up. there's nothing between us _

_ lima bean: yeah, yeah. text louis, lover boy _

Harry groaned. He'd been thinking about ways to start his first text conversation with Louis, but asking about the English finals really did make him look ignorant and stupid. Liam was right though. Harry exited his and Liam's chat and opened up Louis' contact (which he's saved as 'Louis' along with a heart emoji) and typed a message. Taking a deep breath, he pressed send before he could stop himself and threw his phone down on his bed, nervously waiting for an answer.

A couple of minutes later, his phone's notification sound went off and Harry grabbed his phone, seeing a message from Louis. His heart rate sped up and he unlocked his phone, reading the message.

_ harry: hey louis, it's harry. um, i wanted to ask you about english finals, i don't really remember what mr. jackson said and i would really appreciate it if you could help me out. sorry for bothering you .x _

_ louis ❤︎: hey harry, don't worry, you're not bothering me at all. mr. jackson told us that for english finals we'll have to write an essay about the influences of shakespeare and analyze one of shakespeare's works. he also said a lot more, i have it in my notes. would you like a picture? _

_ harry: yep, a picture would be awesome thanks .x _

_ louis ❤︎ sent a picture _

_ harry: you're a lifesaver. thanks a lot! .x _

_ louis ❤︎: no problem _

Harry opened up the image Louis had sent and zoomed in. Louis was too perfect - with beautiful handwriting and incredible note-taking skills. Unable to keep the fact that Louis texted him to himself, Harry went to text Liam.

_ harry the frog: i texted louis _

_ lima bean: how did it go? _

_ harry the frog: normal. he sent me a picture of his notes and i'm intimidated. his handwriting is awesome and his notes are awesome too _

_ lima bean: what did you expect from the class genius? he's always writing in class, he's got to have good notes _

_ harry the frog: i guess. i hope he doesn't think of me as stupid and ignorant though _

_ lima bean: don't worry. plenty of people forget what teachers say. you're also already stupid and ignorant, if he thinks of you as that it's fine, he's just seeing your true personality _

_ harry the frog: ha ha ha _

_ lima bean: it's true, haz. _

_ harry the frog: i hate you _

_ lima bean: you love me. i'm here to help you with your louis problems. without me what would you do? _

_ harry the frog: i have other friends, idiot _

_ lima bean: but i'm your best friend. your only best friend _

_ harry the frog: fine _

_ lima bean: yay _

Harry rolled his eyes. Liam was supposed to be mature and responsible, but he could be a little five-year-old at times.

_ harry the frog: i need to go look at louis' notes so i can prepare for the english finals _

_ lima bean: more like analyze louis' handwriting and frame it in your bedroom _

_ harry the frog: i may be obsessed but not that much _

_ lima bean: you never know, haz. text me later _

_ harry the frog: sure. bye _

_ lima bean: bye _

Harry exited the chat and went to look at the picture of Louis' notes, zooming in so he could read them carefully.

And maybe he analyzed Louis' handwriting, too.

*****

The next day, Harry met up with Liam at their lockers before school. Liam was casting Harry knowing smirks, which Harry was trying to ignore, but he was getting pretty uncomfortable. After a couple of minutes, he said, "Li, stop smirking at me."

"Can't help it," Liam said.

"Why not? Is there something wrong with me?"

"No, it's just that you texted Louis!" Liam sang, smiling happily.

"Shh, shut up," Harry hissed, slapping his hand across Liam's mouth to muffle the noise. "I don't need the entire school to know."

"Not sorry." Liam shrugged. "You were squealing when I told you about Zayn."

Harry pouted. "You're mean. I hate you."

"Yeah, I know. You told me last night. So, how did analyzing Louis' handwriting go?" Liam asked as they started to head down the hallway.

"I wasn't -"

"You were. I know it, you know it," Liam said, waving his hand dismissively. "I expect to see that picture of Louis' handwriting in your Favorites folder."

"You know me so well," Harry mumbled, slightly embarrassed, but he couldn't lie to Liam.

"Thought so." Liam grinned.

"How are you going to approach Zayn?" Harry asked, trying to change the subject.

Liam bit his lip. "I don't know, really. Actually, I'm kind of counting on you. You get to know Louis, our friend groups merge and I get to know Zayn!"

"Well that sounds great, except I can't exactly get to know Louis - it's difficult. There aren't a lot of excuses for us two to hang out," Harry pointed out.

Liam sighed. "True. I guess we both are starstruck lovers who can't get the people they like."

They both sighed dramatically and stopped in the middle of the hallway, earning weirded-out glances from the other students. They started laughing and kept walking, parting ways once Liam reached his classroom.

Harry headed towards his English classroom and spotted Louis and Zayn talking inside. Should Harry go over to them? Half of him wanted to and half of him didn't. Zayn was so intimidating and Louis was a lot more intimidating, but Harry really did need to get to know him more. He took a deep breath.  _ Fuck it. _ He walked over to the duo, a smile plastered on his face.

"Hi, guys."

Louis turned around and squeaked adorably when he saw Harry. Zayn nudged him slightly and turned to Harry. "Hey, Styles."

"Um, hi," Louis mumbled, looking down at his shoes.

_ God, he's cute _ .

"Um, Louis, I just wanted to say thank you for helping me out with the English finals, you're an absolute lifesaver," Harry said sincerely.

"Uh, no problem. It was nothing," Louis said shyly.

"Thank goodness you helped me, though. I asked nearly everyone in this class and no one knew what Mr. Jackson had said," Harry continued. "If you hadn't told me I would be completely screwed for the finals."

"Hey, Styles, you could've asked me too, you know. I know what Mr. Jackson said, you don't have to make me sound so stupid," Zayn said, his tone a little offended but also a little playful.

"Well, I said  _ nearly _ everyone. I also don't have your number," Harry defended.

"And you have Louis'?" Zayn asked, one eyebrow raised, although he probably already knew the answer.

"Uh, yeah. He gave it to me the day Phoebe got lost in the mall."

"Yeah, I know. Lou told me about it." Zayn sent a quick smirk to Louis.

Mr. Jackson arrived at that moment and all conversations ceased as the class shuffled into their seats. Since Harry and Louis sat close to each other, they shuffled together in the same direction and their shoulders accidentally brushed.

The two jumped apart, faces red and mumbling apologies under their breath. They made it to their seats, stumbling awkwardly and Harry's heart was beating wildly. He sat down and pulled out his little compact mirror, seeing a very flushed and very red Louis taking his seat too. He was a little confused as of why Louis was blushing - maybe he just did that every time he touched someone?

His thoughts were interrupted by Mr. Jackson's voice and he focused on the lesson, although a lot of it was spent sneakily looking at Louis through the compact mirror. What was he supposed to do when such a beautiful human was presented right in front (well, behind Todd, who was behind Harry, but... you get what he means) of him?

Liam was ecstatic when he heard the news. "I'm so proud of you!" 

Harry made a face. "Stop it, Li. You're acting like I did something absolutely phenomenal."

"You did! I mean, you talked to Louis without any coaxing from me and you didn't fail horribly. Way to go, Harry," Liam said proudly.

"You make it sound like I'm completely incapable of talking to a crush. May I remind you I've dated before?"

"Yeah, but you weren't, like,  _ in love _ . You just liked them," Liam said. "There's a difference."

Harry blushed. "I'm not in love with Louis. I don't even know him properly."

Liam raised an eyebrow. "Well, it's only a matter of time."

Harry was about to protest but Liam put a finger on Harry's lips. "Don't argue with me, Haz."

Harry rolled his eyes and removed Liam's finger from his lips. "You're so dramatic."

"Talent of mine." Liam grinned. "I'm also an official matchmaker. I got ordained online."

"That's not a real thing."

Liam laughed and shook his head. "No, it's not. Just kidding. Mark my words though, you and Louis are destined to be."

*****

They made their way to history, sitting down at their seats and waiting for Mr. Anderson to arrive.

Mr. Anderson droned on and on and Harry was starting zone out, but that was when Mr. Anderson said, "You will be doing a group project on it."

Harry snapped out of his daze and sat up a little straighter.  _ Group project _ .

"It's a very important part of your final grade, and you will be spending several weeks on it," Mr. Anderson continued. "There will be three people in a group, and I have already selected your groups."

There was a collective groan from the class.

Mr. Anderson smirked. "Alright. I'll be giving you a few periods to do your project in class, but you'll have to do most of it during your own time. I'll be reading out the groups, sit together and you have the rest of the period to figure things out."

He turned to his desk and picked out a piece of paper and began rattling off names. Harry tapped his foot impatiently. He hoped he would be in the same group as Liam. 

"... alright, next group, Liam Payne, Harry Styles..."

Liam and Harry grinned at each other in excitement. Now all that was left was the last member, which Harry wasn't really worried about, because as long as he had Liam, everything would work out just fine.

"... and the last member is Louis Tomlinson."


	6. Chapter 6

"... and the last member is Louis Tomlinson."

Harry nearly choked.

Liam shot him a knowing smirk while Harry whipped his head around to look at Louis.

Louis was gathering his books, facial expression neutral but his cheeks tinted pink. Harry couldn't breathe.

_Fuck fuck fuck._

This was a nightmare! Okay, not really a nightmare. It had been the stuff of Harry's daydreams for quite a while now, but Harry was freaking out! Group project! Louis Tomlinson! Group project with Louis Tomlinson!

Liam was walking towards Harry's desk, smirk so wide and evil and knowing that Harry wanted to rip it off his face.

The class was moving around as their groups were announced, and the desks around Harry's were empty, so Liam plopped down at one.

"Haz, this is your big chance," Liam said lowly, so Louis wouldn't hear. Louis was currently shuffling towards Harry's desk, and Harry was getting nearer to a heart attack with every step Louis took.

"Li, I can't do this," Harry whimpered quietly.

"You can," Liam promised. "This is your chance!"

At that moment, Louis reached them and sat down at a vacant desk.

"Hey, Louis!" Liam said cheerfully, shooting Harry a glance that said, _Talk_.

"Hey, Louis," Harry said, trying to act nonchalant.

"Hey, guys," Louis said shyly. His fringe was falling into his eyes and he brushed it away, playing with his sweater paws nervously. Harry tried his best to refrain from picking Louis up and stuffing him in his pocket so Harry could keep him forever.

"So." Liam cleared his throat. "Louis, we all know you're the smartest person in our school."

"I'm not -" Louis protested, but Liam shushed him.

"There's no point in denying it, we all know it's true. Now, we also all know that me and Harry are doofuses -" Louis giggled adorably "- so it would be much appreciated if you just explained it all to us, so we're on the same page."

Harry was red from being called a doofus in front of Louis, but he remained as calm as possible and listened intently as Louis explained their project. Once Louis was done explaining, Harry decided that he couldn't just let Liam do all the talking. He had to do _something_. "So, we're going to have to do this on the weekend, right?" Harry asked.

Louis nodded. "Yeah."

"Whose house will we go to? Which days are you free?"

"Um." Louis colored. "My mum's busy, I have to help her babysit my sisters all the time."

"That's okay," Liam said warmly, "We'll just go to your house, you can babysit your sisters while we do our work."

"That's great, thank you," Louis said, smiling a little.

"Well, I know Harry has your number, but I don't. Mind giving it to me?" Liam asked, holding out his phone.

"Sure." Louis took it and typed in his number.

"Great. We'll text and work out a time, alright?"

Louis and Harry nodded. At that moment, the bell rang, and the boys gathered their things, Louis handing Liam's phone back to him.

Building up his courage, Harry said, "See you, Louis," as Louis walked away.

Louis stopped, and said a shy, "See you, Harry," before walking out of the door.

Harry turned back to Liam, eyes wide, heart beating wildly from what had just happened. Liam was grinning widely and he patted Harry on the back.

"Li, I can't believe it," Harry whispered. "I'm going to have to spend so much time with him, I'm going to _combust._ "

Liam laughed. "You'll survive, Haz."

Harry groaned. "This is so _scary_."

"Wow, I'd never think the big bad Harry Styles could get scared," Liam teased.

Harry rolled his eyes and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Shut it, Li."

"Rude."

"You're rude. Shut up."

"Tsk, tsk. Your pining over Louis has turned you into _such_ a moron, Harry. What will Anne say?" Liam said, mocking some posh accent.

"For your information, my mother is very excited about me drooling over Louis, thank you very much," Harry huffed.

"Of course she is. Her dear little baby Harry is growing up," Liam sighed dramatically. " _My_ dear little baby Harry is growing up." He clutched at his heart.

Harry rolled his eyes again. "Oh, shut it. You're growing up too, Li, if you haven't forgotten about your little crush on Zaynie."

Liam stopped his theatrical endeavors and squinted at Harry for a bit, before sighing. "Guess you're right."

*****

The trio agreed to meet up at Louis' house on Saturday, and Louis texted them his address.

On Saturday morning, Harry was having a crisis. His clothes were strewn all across the floor, and he was desperately rummaging through his closet, trying to find something to wear. Frustrated, he yelled, "Gemma!"

A few seconds later, his older sister popped her head in, saw the mess, and raised an eyebrow. "Need help?"

"Yes, please," Harry begged.

Gemma chuckled a little, before inspecting a few of Harry's clothes. "Let me get this straight. You're going over to Louis' for a group project, right?"

"Yup."

"Hmm."

After rummaging around for a bit, Gemma handed Harry a peach hoodie, a denim jacket, and pair of ripped black skinny jeans. "Here. Wear these. You probably wanna go for that casual, rugged look if you want to impress Louis. I'll do your hair for you."

Gemma exited the room while harry changed, then came back armed with hairspray and gel.

Once Harry saw all of the products she was holding, he groaned. "Gems, are you sure? I hate it when there's too much stuff in my hair."

Gemma tilted her head and squinted at Harry. "Fine, you're not going anywhere too fancy or important, I guess you can style your curls normally."

"It _is_ important!" Harry protested. "But, like, I don't need to gel my hair too much."

Gemma snorted. "Okay, lover boy. Get your stuff. Liam's downstairs, waiting for you."

Harry gathered his things, put a pair of sunglasses on, and headed downstairs. Liam was sitting on the couch, looking at his phone. When he heard Harry coming down the stairs, he looked up and grinned. "I see Gemma helped you out with your clothing crisis."

"Do I look acceptable?" Harry looked into the nearest reflective surface - the black TV screen -and fixed his hair.

"Sure. Now come on, I've texted Louis and he says we can come over." Liam stood up, stretched, and grabbed his bag. "Just make sure you keep your cool."

"That's gonna be hard. I'm going to have to take mandatory breaks every half an hour away from Louis so I can cool down."

They left Harry's house and walked over to Louis', which wasn't that far away. Harry was puzzled that he hadn't seen Louis around before.

Liam rang the doorbell, and Harry adjusted his clothes nervously, trying to control his heartbeat and failing miserably.

"Haz, calm down," Liam hissed. "Just be chill."

"Chill. Sure," Harry mumbled, running a hand through his curls. "I look fine?"

"Yes, you look absolutely jaw-dropping. Now shut up."

The door opened, and a beautiful woman was standing there. She looked a little stressed out, but she gave the two boys a warm smile. "Ah, you must be Harry and Liam?"

"Um, yes ma'am," Harry said.

"Come in! I'm Jay, Louis' mother. Louis told me that you two would be coming for your project. Unfortunately, all of my children are home. They're good kids, but quite a handful, I hope you boys don't mind," she said apologetically, leading them into the house.

"It's alright, we really don't mind, Mrs. Tomlinson," Liam said.

"Please, call me Jay," she said, leading them to the couch. "I'll go tell Louis that you boys are here."

Jay turned around and headed for the stairs, but apparently she didn't need to go far to find Louis. Louis was chasing one of the twins (Harry still couldn't really differentiate them) down the stairs, caught her, and scolded her.

"Pheebs, you have to let me _finish your hair_ -"

Phoebe (apparently) folded her arms and pouted. Her hair was half-finished, ribbons dangling down her back. "Nooooo, I don't wanna."

"Phoebe, darling, let Louis finish your hair. He has guests, remember? Don't be naughty," Jay reminded her.

Louis and Phoebe both turned to looked at Harry and Liam, who were standing next to the couch. Louis turned a lovely shade of beet red, while Phoebe squealed, " 'arry!" and ran towards the curly-haired boy.

Louis quickly grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up. "Hey, hey, I haven't finished your hair, young lady." He looked up at Liam and Harry and smiled weakly. "Um, I have to finish doing her hair before I-"

"It's totally fine, Louis, we get it," Harry interrupted, with a sudden burst of confidence. "You can just finish all of your sibling duties first, we don't mind waiting."

"Thank you!" Louis carried Phoebe back up the stairs.

Jay turned to the boys. "Thank you two for understanding, it's rather hectic around here," she said. "We've got four girls and Louis has to take care of all of them, since I'm so busy all the time."

"He seems like a very good brother," Harry said, although he knew it was undoubtedly true from all the times he'd seen Louis and his siblings.

"Oh, he is! And he's such a good son, too. Smart, hardworking, caring," Jay said, smiling fondly. "Anyway, would you boys like a cup of tea?"

"Um, yes, thank you," the two said.

Jay disappeared into the kitchen, and the two sat down on the couch.

"God, I'm nervous," Harry said, tugging at his hoodie self-consciously.

"Aw, shut it. You'll be fine." Liam patted his back.

Phoebe bounded down the stairs, followed by Louis. Her hair was braided nicely, and she waved at Harry and Liam. "Hi, 'arry!"

"Hey, Phoebe," Harry said, waving back.

"Who are you?" Phoebe asked Liam. "You look like a puppy."

"Pheebs, don't be rude!" Louis hissed. He turned to Liam and said apologetically, "Sorry, she's a little too young to think before she speaks."

Liam laughed. "No, it's okay." He turned to Phoebe. "I'm Liam. Are you Phoebe?"

Phoebe nodded and pointed to herself. "Phoebe."

"Are you Louis' sister?"

Phoebe nodded again and said happily, "LouLou!"

Jay returned with two mugs of tea. "Would you boys like to work in Louis' room? Lou, you're not really needed with the girls unless I call you, okay?"

"Thanks, Mum," louis said, pecking her on the cheek. Jay handed Harry and Liam their mugs, which was met with sincere _thank you_ s. Louis led them into his bedroom, and said, "Sorry if it's a bit messy, I don't really have time to clean it up."

Louis' room _was_ a little messy, like Harry expected it to be - a little messy, but warm and cozy and homey. There was a scent that was so distinctively _Louis_ , Harry could lock himself in the room and stay there forever. There were Polaroids and a couple of beautiful paintings framing the walls, and when Harry looked closer, he could see that the Polaroids were of Louis and his family, as well as, to his jealousy, Niall and Zayn.

"These are some really nice paintings," Liam commented.

"Zayn painted them for me," Louis explained. "He's a really good artist."

Once again, jealousy flared in Harry's heart. _Zayn painted for Louis_. He glanced over at Liam, who seemed half-pained, probably sharing Harry's sentiments, but also half-pleased to hear some new information about Zayn.

"Um, you guys can sit on my bed if you'd like. It's probably the most comfortable place," Louis said shyly. "Sorry, I don't really have anything for you to sit on -"

"It's totally fine," Liam assured him, sitting down on the bed. Harry followed, feeling even more nervous now that he was sitting on top of the place where Louis _slept every night_. Oh God.

Louis sat down in the chair he had tucked into his desk, and took a pile of papers off of his desk. "I, um, did a little research? I hope you guys don't mind." He handed Liam and Harry a couple of papers each. "This is the topic I want to do, but it's okay if you guys don't want to do it, I-" Louis rambled nervously.

"Louis, Louis, it's fine," Liam interrupted. "We're totally cool with it. Right, H?"

Harry, who had been studying the Polaroids on Louis' wall, quickly said, "Yeah, yeah. It's totally fine."

"Great." Louis smiled happily.

They spent some time going through Louis' papers, discussing different points and creating an outline for their project. They were splitting up the workload when there was a loud "LOU!" and the door burst open.

One twin and Fizzy were standing there, and the twin ran straight into Louis' arms, sobbing.

"Whoa, whoa, Daisy, what's going on?" Louis asked, holding his little sister tightly.

"Fizzy hit me!" Daisy bawled, pointing a finger accusingly at her older sister.

"Did not!" Fizzy yelled back.

"You DID!" Daisy protested. "LouLou! She hit me! She's a big meanie!"

Jay appeared, panting a little. "Lou, dear, I'm so sorry, I tried to stop them from coming to you, but they were too fast."

"S'okay, Mum," Louis said, cuddling Daisy. "Are you hurt, Dais?"

Daisy pouted and shook her head. "No."

"Good." He turned to Fizzy and raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"I didn't do it!" she said defensively, folding her arms.

Louis and Jay sighed at the same time. "I'll deal with this," Jay said, holding a hand out for Daisy. "Come on, sweetie. Lou's busy right now."

Daisy hopped off Louis' lap and took her mother's hand, leaving the room with Fizzy. Jay closed the door behind them.

"Um, sorry about that," Louis apologized.

"It's fine," Harry said. _Talk more!_ his mind yelled at him. He swallowed. Okay. "Your sisters are adorable." _You're the most adorable, though._

Louis smiled widely. "Yeah, they are. They're a wild bunch, though."

"How do you deal with them? I only have one sister and she drives me _insane_ ," Harry said, rolling his eyes dramatically at 'insane'.

Louis giggled, making Harry's heart melt. "I have no idea. They're absolutely crazy but I love them so much."

Harry cooed internally, and he could tell that Liam was, too. Louis was just too adorable for his own good.

They continued with their project, and Harry was slowly starting to relax, joking around and being his usual goofy self instead of being uptight and nervous. When it was time to leave, Harry didn't want to go. In the past couple of hours, Louis had opened up, and Harry had managed to make decent conversation with him. Harry wanted to stay in the Tomlinson residence forever and keep talking to Louis until - well, until _love blossomed in the air!!!_

Oops. Hi. That was a tad bit dramatic, wasn't it? But, in all honesty, Harry was so excited that Louis was starting to warm up to him. Of course, they were doing a project so it was kind of mandatory that Louis talked to Liam and Harry, but Harry still felt ecstatic.

"Um, we're going to have to meet up again," Louis informed them, leading them to the front door.

"Of course. We can work it out over text, right?" Liam said. Louis nodded.

"It was really nice working with you guys," he said shyly.

Harry grinned. Louis was unbelievably adorable right now. "It was awesome working with you too, Louis."

"Yep," Liam agreed. "See you at school, Louis!"

"See you." Louis opened the door, and Liam and Harry filed out. The two turned around and waved, Louis giving a small little wave back before closing the door.

As the two made their way down the porch, Liam nudged Harry. "Enjoyed yourself?"

Harry blushed. "Immensely. He's so cute."

Liam huffed out a laugh. "You're so gone for him."

*****

Once Harry had said goodbye to Liam and reached his own house, Gemma and Anne were waiting by the door, ready to bombard Harry with questions.

Harry had just placed his hand on the doorknob when the door flew open, and Gemma was up in his face. "How was it?"

Anne popped up behind her. "Did you two talk? Any progress?"

"Have you two kissed yet?"

"Did you meet his mother? Have you met his sisters?"

"Did you see his room?"

"When are we going to meet him?"

"Harry, _I_ think it's time to buy the engagement ring -"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Harry interrupted. "Please slow down. Can I come in first?"

Gemma huffed, but let Harry in. "Quickly, H. I need the details, stat!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Gems, calm down."

"Can't, my baby brother is all grown up and I need to know what happened," Gemma said, bouncing on her feet.

Immediately after harry had taken of his shoes, the two women rushed him to the couch and sat him down, taking a seat at either side of him, ready to give him the third degree.

Gemma cleared her throat. "Alright, Harry. Details. Now."

Sighing, Harry gave them a full account of what had happened at the Tomlinson residence. Gemma and Anne listened intently, and once Harry was done, Anne patted her son's curly head. "Well, things are going nicely."

"You're going to meet up again, aren't you? Make sure you meet up as many times as possible," Gemma advised.

"And initiate more conversation!" Anne added.

"Study up on your topic so you'll have more things to talk about with him, and you'll seem smarter," Gemma said.

"Okay, okay, thanks," Harry said, getting up. "Are you done interrogating me?"

Gemma and Anne exchanged looks. "For the moment being, yes," Gemma said slowly.

"Awesome." Harry headed up to his room, and slipped out his phone. In a fit of spontaneous bravery, he opened his and Louis' chat and typed in, _hey louis! i know we were doing a group project but it was still so fun to hang out with you. your sisters are adorable .x h_

His fingers hovered above the send button, as he debated whether or not he should send the text. _Come on, Harry,_ he told himself, _Make a move. Make. A. Fucking. Move!_

He took a deep breath, pressed the button, and threw his phone onto the bed, immediately regretting his decision. His heart rate rose when a _ding!_ signified that somebody had texted him.

He grabbed his phone and turned it on, heart racing even more when he saw it was a text from Louis.

_louis_ _❤︎_ _: it was fun hanging out with you too_


	7. Chapter 7

_louis_ _❤︎_ _: it was fun hanging out with you too_

Harry was freaking out.

_It was fun hanging out with you too._

Well, it didn't really _mean_ anything, because it was a pretty normal thing to say, right? It didn't stop Harry from texting Liam, though.

_harry the frog: liam_

_harry the frog: liammmm_

_harry the frog: leeyum james painnnnnn_

_lima bean: what now h_

_harry the frog: louis texted me!!!!_

Harry screenshotted his and Louis' conversation.

_harry the frog sent a picture_

_harry the frog: see?_

_lima bean: harry, it's only about eight words and does not show his unconditional love for you_

_harry the frog: still! improvement! he talked to meeeeeee_

_lima bean: damn you're lucky. i don't even have zayn's number_

_harry the frog: poor you :(_

_lima bean: hey... what if i asked louis for zayn's number? i mean they're besties right?_

_harry the frog: guess that would work but you gotta figure out a way to ask_

_lima bean: true_

_lima bean: worth a shot though_

_harry the frog: i can't wait until you start talking to zayn... then i can make fun of you like you made fun of me .x_

_lima bean: i'm not as obsessed with zayn as you are with louis_

_harry the frog: we'll see_

*****

When Harry went back to school on Monday, he was feeling nervous. First, he'd be seeing Louis again, which was always nerve-wracking and a threat to his health. After all, there was a 90% chance Harry would get a heart attack after seeing the sheer beauty of the blue-eyed boy. It was a good thing he had insurance.

Second, both he and Liam had decided to try to get Zayn's number. This was a less nerve-wracking thing for Harry, since Zayn wasn't _his_ crush (Liam liked to refer to Louis as Harry's unhealthy obsession, but Harry didn't like to think like that), but Zayn was _Liam's_ crush. Harry was determined to help his friend, and Liam's nervous energy did not help Harry calm down.

They met up before school to discuss.

"So, what's the plan?" Harry asked.

Liam shrugged. "I can't just ask Louis for Zayn's number, 'cause Zayn would ask how I got it. Better ask Zayn himself."

Harry nodded in agreement. "You're gonna have to get closer to Zayn though. I mean, have you ever talked to him before?"

Liam sighed unhappily. "Haz, you have it so much easier. It was like destiny that you got to know Louis. first, you find his sister in the mall and you get his number, then you're put into the same group as him in class so you can go to his house and hang out with him. I wish I could be like that with Zayn. I have no idea how I'm supposed to get closer to him, I only have one class with him."

Harry patted Liam's back sympathetically. "Don't be so down, Li! I'm sure it'll all work out fine." Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. "Hey, maybe if we hang out with Louis more, we'll eventually be introduced to Zayn, you can get to know him, then you can date him!"  


Liam laughed. "I wish. Anyway, it's just an excuse for you to hang out with Louis, isn't it?"

Harry flushed and pushed Liam playfully. "I'm trying to help you out here. It wasn't my plan that our crushes are best friends."

Liam smirked. "Okay, okay. I'll admit it's not a bad plan, so I'll go along with it."

Harry smiled. "Awesome." He wanted to get closer to Louis, but it was always kind of hard doing it himself. With Liam by his side, he'd hopefully be less of an awkward, clumsy dork and more of his usual charming self.

Liam tapped his shoulder. "Heads up," he whispered. "Louis and Zayn are here."

Harry whipped his head around quickly - _too_ quickly, and now several people were staring at him.

Louis and Zayn were walking towards the classroom, chatting. They were both quite introverted people, but together they seemed to be talking quite happily, both of them with smiles on their faces.

Harry and Liam were both lost in the beauty of their respective crushes for a few seconds. Why did Louis' eyes seem to get bluer and brighter everyday? And why did Zayn's hair, no matter what, always looked perfectly styled, even though it was unruly?

"Harry! Liam!" Someone was tapping on both of their shoulders. They turned, and saw a very smug Demi looking at them.

"Hey, Demi, what's up?" Harry said quickly, trying to pretend he hadn't been staring at Louis.

"I saw you staring at Louis!" Demi sang, keeping her voice relatively low since Louis was just a few feet away. "Styles, I need to educate you on keeping your staring sneaky. Anyone could see your blatant love for him miles away."

"Hey, Liam was staring at Zayn too!" Harry defended himself.

Demi's jaw dropped. "Oh my God," she said. "Liam has a crush on Zayn?"

Harry clapped a hand over his mouth while Liam clapped his over Demi's mouth.

"Harry, you weren't supposed to tell," Liam said, irritated.

"Sorry," Harry squeaked. "But Demi's a good friend, she wouldn't tell, would she?"  


"I won't tell, Li," Demi promised, eyes sparkling excitedly at the new information. "But - wow! You two are besties and you're crushing on people who are besties!"

"We know, Demi," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey! I just got an idea," Demi said. "You know how Louis is in the debate club, right?" Harry nodded. Demi's eyes shone mysteriously. "Well, I'm in the debate club too, and we have a meeting today. You can come along!"

Harry was rather taken aback by this. "Um, are you sure? I'm not part of the debate club."

Demi snorted. "Harry, I know. But there's always a bunch of random people that come to meetings, just to hang out with their friends and stuff. You and Liam can come along and befriend Louis and all that."

Liam nudged Harry. "It's not a bad idea. But how would we talk to him? I mean, it's debate meeting, shouldn't he be focused on debate or something?"

Demi tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Okay, you don't necessarily have to start with Louis. You can start with Niall, his buddy, 'cause Niall's a social butterfly and he doesn't mind socializing during a meeting. Anyway, if you guys don't manage to befriend Niall _or_ Louis today, at least Harry can have a session of ogling Louis," she joked.

Harry huffed. "I'm offended."

"I know, hun," Demi said, winking. "That was the purpose."

*****

After Liam left for his own class, Harry headed into the English classroom along with Demi. Luckily for him, Nick had a dentist appointment during that period so he didn't have an annoying, whiny parasite following his every move.

The majority of his English class was spent staring trying to listen Mr. Jackson and take notes while occasionally looking at Louis through his compact mirror. Multi-tasking was hard, but it was what Harry was willing to do if that meant he could watch the angel of a boy sitting two seats behind him.

In fact, it was what Harry did in every class he had with Louis - try to pay attention while glancing at him every once in a while. When it was time for history, he and Liam made their way to the classroom. Harry was feeling nervous - Mr. Anderson was giving them this period to work on their group project, meaning that Harry would spend the entire lesson only a few feet away from Louis.

Of course, he'd experienced this already - like the time when he went to Louis' house, and had spent a couple hours in Louis' presence - but it was always nerve-wracking.

Once Mr. Anderson entered the classroom, he said, "Class, today's a free period to work on your project. Do whatever you like, but keep it quiet, please."

The class shifted around from their assigned seats to their groups, with Harry and Liam joining Louis at the corner of the classroom.

Before they'd reached Louis, Liam had nudged him and mouthed, _Talk_. So when Harry sat down, he flashed Louis a big grin and said, "Hey, Louis!"

"Hey, Harry, hey, Liam," Louis said softly as the two boys sat down.

"So..." Liam prompted, tapping Harry's foot with his own under the table.

"Um, I did a bit of the project over the weekend, it's on the document," Harry said, pulling out his laptop. Louis and Liam did the same, with Louis saying, "Yeah, I saw. Your work was really good!"

"Thanks," Harry said, extremely proud of himself. All that studying and extra hard work he'd put into his education was paying off - obviously, his grades had been improving, which made both himself and his family happy. And Louis had said he'd done good work!

Throughout the lesson, they continued working on their project. All of their conversations were about the project, which probably wasn't that big of a deal, but Harry was freaking out internally every time Louis directed a word at him.

Demi, from across the room, was watching their group. Whenever she and Harry made eye contact, she flashed him a knowing smirk that would make Harry blush (even more, since his face remained a light pink throughout the entire period) and look away.

When the school day was finally over, Demi met Harry and Liam at her locker, and the trio marched purposefully down the hall to the debate room.

Harry and Liam were both extremely nervous. Harry more so than Liam, because Louis was _his_ crush and Harry was going to be seeing him in _person_. Liam was nervous too, though, because he needed to help his friend get closer to Louis, and Zayn was best friends with Louis so anything that Liam did might be relayed all the way to Zayn.

Demi snorted at both of them. "Calm down, guys. It's just a debate meeting. There'll be more people around, you won't have to be with him for the entire time. And you're just _talking._ "

"It's not as easy as you think, Demi," Harry groaned. "I'm such a clumsy idiot, I'm sure to make a fool out of myself in front of him."

"You're right about the clumsy idiot part," Demi said.

"Demi! Not helping." Harry glared at her.

Demi laughed. "What? I'm just being truthful, H. And it's okay, you don't have to be perfect in front of him. You just have to be yourself. And if the real you is a clumsy, idiotic dork, so be it."

Somewhat comforted by Demi's advice, the two trotted into the classroom after Demi, eyes nervously flitting around, looking for a certain blue-eyed boy. Demi guided them to one of the empty tables, and the three sat down. "Aren't you gonna sit with your teammates or something?" Harry asked. Demi shrugged.

"Meeting doesn't start until ten minutes later, so everyone kinda chills out for a bit. We'll get into our groups later," she explained. "Also, before meeting starts, I have to tell you something."

Demi got a little squeamish and uncomfortable when she said that, so both Harry and Liam leaned forward, intrigued. "Go on," Harry said.

Demi opened her mouth to say whatever she had to say, but at that moment there was a loud, "Harry!"

All three turned, to see a grinning Nick walk over to their table. Demi let out an almost inaudible "Fuck," under her breath.

Harry glanced at her, shooting her a confused look, but she simply glared at Nick's approaching form. Nick had never really gotten on well with any of his other friends, but was it _this_ bad?

"Hey, guys!" Nick plopped down in one of the empty chairs. "I'm back from my appointment! What are you two doing here? You're not part of the debate club!"

"We're just hanging out with Demi," Harry explained, gesturing towards the girl who was glaring darkly at Nick.

"Oh." Nick didn't seem to notice Demi's death stare. "Hey, you guys should come hang out with me and my team! I don't see enough of you, Harry!"

"Um..." Harry looked over at Liam and Demi, eyes screaming _Help!_

Demi cleared her throat. "Maybe he can hang out with you later. We three need to talk about some things."

"Oh!" Nick made no sign of moving. "Do discuss."

"I mean we have something to discuss _privately_ ," Demi said, voice dripping with poison. "So, you can kindly return to your own table."

"Oh, come on," Nick whined. "Can't I know about it? I promise I won't tell."

Harry gritted his teeth. Nick was really annoying sometimes. He was about to tell Nick to _kindly fuck off, please_ , but at that moment Louis and Niall walked in.

Harry, Liam and Demi's attention all went onto the duo, and Nick, seeing that his _beloved_ Harry was looking at something else, turned around to see what was going on.

Louis, as usual, was dressed in an oversized hoodie with _adorable_ sweater paws. His black skinny jeans hugged his curves in all the right places, and his soft brown hair was adorably falling into his eyes.

Niall, who was walking in front of him, was dressed in a bright green shirt with the words 'LEPRECHAUN' written on it in gold lettering. His fake-blonde hair was styled up into a quiff, and you could see the dark brown roots of his hair.

Harry was trying to compose himself. Louis was in the same room as him. That was totally normal. Totally normal. No need to freak out or anything, right? Except Harry's heart was hammering so hard he thought it would probably burst out of his chest, and his eyes were dilating so fast he was sure his eyes were no longer green, completely covered by his enlarged pupils.

However, Nick let out a sneer that snapped Harry out of ogling Louis' thighs. "Hey, Tomlinson!" Nick called.

The chatter in the room quieted. Louis ignored Nick, and kept walking.

"Hey, listen when I'm talking to you, asshole!" Nick said, louder. Louis flinched at the word _asshole_ , making Harry's blood boil. What did Nick think he was doing, calling the most perfect boy in the world an _asshole_?

Harry was about to murder Nick, but Niall acted first. He stopped walking, and growled at Nick. "Shut your mouth, Grimshit."

"Shut _your_ Irish mouth, Horan," Nick said irritably.

"Nick, stop," Liam said, trying to keep his voice cool.

"Come on, Liam, I'm just having some fun!" Nick smiled sweetly at Liam. "I'm just talking to the nerd."

"He's not a nerd," Harry said through clenched teeth. "Leave him alone, Nick. I'm serious."

"Harry." Nick pouted. "Are you actually _defending_ the rat?"

"He's. Not. A. Rat. Shut up, Nick."

Nick looked hurt. Never before had his lovely Harry ever been so hostile with him. "But, Harry, he's so ugly and ratty-looking and -"

" _SHUT UP!_ " Harry yelled, slamming his hand on the table. "Can you not be so freaking rude for _one second_?"

The whole room went silent.

Nick was shrunk back into his seat, terrified. Both Demi and Liam looked shocked too - Harry was usually a peace-loving person, and wouldn't get angry easily. The fact that he had just shouted at Nick in front of an entire room of people showed that he must've been _really_ pissed - like _really, really_ pissed.

Which was understandable, because Harry wasn't about to let _anyone_ talk shit about Louis.

The room was engulfed in tension, as everyone watched Harry glare angrily at Nick, panting slightly from getting so worked up.

Finally, Liam carefully placed his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry?"

"What?" Although Harry's voice was a little sharp, he didn't bear any ill will to his best friend.

Liam and Demi made eye contact with each other.

"Uh, maybe you should go out and cool down for a bit," Demi suggested cautiously, having never seen her friend _this_ angry before.

Harry took a deep breath. "Okay."

Demi and Liam stood up, guiding a slightly fuming Harry out of the classroom. As they left, they could hear hushed whispers begin, with everyone's eyes on either Nick or Louis.

Once they'd left the classroom, Liam turned to Harry. "You okay, bro?"

Harry sighed. "I guess. Nick just pissed me off."

"I could tell." Demi patted Harry's back. "That's the thing I wanted to tell you. Nick's been bullying Louis for a while now, but he only does it in the first few minutes of debate club because no teachers are there. It's nothing physical - well, not yet - but it's awful."

Harry growled. "Fucker."

"Calm down, man," Liam said. "I know we all hate Nick, but... maybe it's not a good idea to go full ballistic in front of Louis. Especially 'cause, y'know, he might tell Zayn, and I don't want Zayn to think I'm some weirdo with anger issues..."

"Oh." Harry froze. "Crap."

He'd just gotten really angry in front of Louis. Louis was _definitely_ going to think he was a weirdo with anger issues and Harry was afraid that Louis didn't _like_ weirdos with anger issues. Who does?

"Hey, it's okay. Your anger was justified, it's not like you suddenly got angry out of nowhere," Demi reassured them. "Plus, you got angry in _Louis' defense_. You were trying to protect him and all that. So don't worry, you won't be a bad guy in Louis' eyes."

Harry sighed in relief. "Thank goodness."

"We all know Nick's a bit of a dick, but you're the one he likes the most, H," Demi said. "You need to talk to him and knock some sense into him. I don't think he really realizes what he's doing and he'll pretty much only listen to you."

Harry groaned. "Talk to Nick? That's impossible, he's so set in his ways that it's hard to change anything about him."

"But you have to try," Demi pressed. "He's not just being rude to Louis, he's rude to a lot of people in school and he'll listen to you more than he'll listen to us."

"I know." Harry huffed. "I'll try, but... no guarantees. Besides, I've just yelled at him so I doubt he'll listen to me now."

"He likes you too much for that... give it a few days and he'll come crawling back to you." Liam turned around when he heard footsteps approaching them. Mr. Lloyd, the debate teacher, was walking towards the classroom and he smiled at the three of them.

"Hi guys! Demi, the meeting's about to start so you better go inside. You two gentlemen are welcome to come watch if you want to."

Harry wasn't in the mood to go back inside and see Nick's face, so he shook his head. "No thanks, Mr. Lloyd."

"Yeah, we're gonna go now." Liam echoed.

"Well, see you guys." Demi flashed the two a thumbs up before disappearing into the classroom, with Mr. Lloyd following.

"C'mon, I wanna go get some ice cream." Liam tugged on Harry's sleeve and they walked away, towards the main entrance.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some feedback would be highly appreciated! .x


	8. Chapter 8

The next day, the school was alive with the talk of _Harry Styles defended Louis Tomlinson_.

It would be impossible if Harry didn't hear the gossip. He felt uncomfortable as he walked through the hallways with everyone's eyes on him, whispering.

He wasn't exactly _ashamed_ of what he'd done - he'd done the right thing, after all - but he wished he hadn't _yelled_ at Nick. It was the talk of the school now.

Of course, he didn't mind so much when Zayn, Niall and Louis approached them during lunchtime.

He and Liam were eating alone, since their other friends had gone on a school trip. Harry liked the peace and quiet, just him and his best friend, where they could discuss Louis or Zayn without worrying about Nick overhearing.

Niall told Harry, "I'd like to thank you for defending Tommo. It was really nice of you to do."

"Um, no problem." Harry's eyes lingered on Niall for approximately five seconds, before they returned to staring at Louis.

"Um, I, u-uh," Louis stuttered from behind Zayn. Zayn nudged him forward, whispering, "Come on, Lou."

"I, uh, really want to thank you for standing up to me, you're really nice," Louis mumbled, fumbling with his words nervously.

"Me too, thanks a lot Harry," Zayn piped in.

"Oh, um, don't mention it. It was the right thing to do," Harry said awkwardly, trying to fight the blush creeping on his cheeks.

"Um, I'll see you in h-history?" Louis asked, playing with his fingers.

"Yeah." Harry smiled. "See you!"

Louis turned pink, and mumbled, "See you," before he turned and left, Zayn trailing behind him while Niall gave Harry a quick smirk and followed his two best friends back to their table.

Once they had left, Harry turned to Liam, eyes wide. "What just happened?"

Liam, who was still recovering from seeing Zayn up close, shook his head. "Whoa... he's really hot."

"And he's really cute," Harry sighed dreamily. "Like a tiny little hedgehog."

After a bit of discussion, Harry and Liam decided to follow Demi's plan - befriend Niall first. After all, Niall was a loud, social person, and he would be a lot easier to befriend than Louis or Zayn.

"You have bio with him," Liam said.

"Yeah, but he sits next to Louis," Harry pointed out. "I don't know if I can befriend Niall in front of Louis."

"Ugh." Liam dramatically put his head on the table. "This sucks. I don't know how to befriend him!"

"I'm sure we'll figure it out _somehow_ ," Harry assured Liam.

"This isn't a movie, Harold." Liam looked up at Harry reproachfully.

"Yeah, it isn't. But if things are gonna work out, they will."

*****

It was about time for the sports clubs to be formed. Coach Russell, the head of the Phys. Ed department, always liked to recruit athletes a few months into the school year, so that the 'fresh meat could get used to things before joining'.

Like every other year, Harry and Liam were in the footie team. After all, Harry was the captain of the team, and Liam his vice captain. It was their job to look over all of the recruits and choose who made it through to the team.

The recruits were comprised of last year's members, a few nervous-looking freshies, and... Niall?

"Hey!" Niall waved cheerfully at them from his spot in the lineup. "How you guys doing?"

"Uh, good, thanks." Harry almost choked in surprise. "You?"

"I'm excited! I've always loved footie, 'cept never thought of joining the school team. I wish Lou was here though, he's so good at footie but he's a little too shy to come to the tryouts," Niall replied happily.

_Lou?_

"You mean Louis Tomlinson?" Harry tried to keep his voice from going up a few octaves.

"Yeah, him! I've been playing footie with him for forever, he's _so_ good at it! But he refused to come to the tryouts with me." Niall pouted a bit.

"Oh, that's too bad." Harry tried to process the information. _Louis. Footie. He's good at it._ "I hope you're ready for the tryouts, Niall."

"I am!" He rubbed his hands together. "I really wanna make the team."

"Good luck then," Harry said, smiling at Niall before walked over to Liam.

"Niall's trying for the team?" Liam asked.

"Yeah. And he says that Louis is good at football!" Harry tried to contain squeals.

"Good for you. Anyway, this is a great opportunity to befriend Niall!" Liam's eyes lit up excitedly.

" _Only_ if he makes it into the team, though." Harry said.

Liam sighed. "Yeah. I hope he's good, I want to get Zayn's number."

*****

Turns out, Niall _was_ good at footie.

Really good, actually.

He was normally so happy and cheerful and playful, but when he was playing, he was incredibly serious.

"He's good," Liam whispered to Harry as they watched the recruits run across the pitch. "And I'm not just saying it because I want to get Zayn's number."

"I know," Harry said, taking notes on his clipboard. "He'll be a valuable asset to the team."

After the tryouts, Harry and Liam had a lengthy discussion before they finally decided on who would make the team.

All of last year's team made it on the team, as well as a talented freshie named James, and Niall.

They announced the results to everyone, and after all of the "Thanks, Cap"s, Niall approached them.

"Hey! Thanks so much for letting me into the team," he said.

"Well, you're really good at footie, so of course we had to let you in," Harry replied.

Niall scoffed. "I'm not that good, Louis is much better. But I'm still so grateful! How about after school we'll go to the cafe and I'll treat you two to tea?"

Liam nudged Harry subtly, eyes screaming, _YES THAT IS A GOOD IDEA I WANT ZAYN'S NUMBER._

"Sure! We'd love to know you more, we'll meet you at the school gates then?" Harry gripped Liam's wrist tightly, nervously awaiting the answer.

"Yay! Alright, see you guy later!" Niall cheered, disappearing into the locker room.

Harry looked over at Liam and grinned. "I guess you _are_ gonna get Zayn's number."

*****

After school, Harry and Liam waited at the school gate for Niall.

He appeared with Louis and Zayn by his side, chatting happily as they walked.

" _Shit,_ " Harry mumbled, trying desperately to fix his appearance as the trio approached.

" _Stop it,_ " Liam hissed. "They're gonna see and think we're weird!"

Harry quickly ran a hand through his curls before standing still, heart rabbiting in his ribcage.

"Hi!" Niall waved cheerfully as the three stopped in front of Harry and Liam. "How are you guys doing?"

"Good," Harry said, while Liam replied with a "Great."

Louis had hidden himself behind Niall and Zayn, floppy fringe covering his eyes and his cheeks dashed pink.

Zayn cleared his throat. "Well, we better get going. See you tomorrow, Ni. Come on, Lou."

"Buh-bye," Louis mumbled, trailing after Zayn as he walked away.

"Bye, guys!" Niall yelled after them, and the two turned to wave before they continued to walk.

Niall turned to Harry and Liam, grinning. "Shall we go?"

The café was a short walk away, and Niall was chatting mindlessly the whole way while Harry and Liam tried their best to reply.

"So." Niall's eyes gleamed mischievously - but the gleam disappeared a split second later, so maybe Harry had only imagined it. "Mr. Styles, you're a very popular young man, but I haven't seen you date _any_ girl. Why's that?"

Harry turned red. "Um... because I'm bisexual? I thought everyone knew that."

Niall shrugged. "Hm. Just checking. How about you, Mr. Payne?"

It was Liam's turn to blush. "I'm uh, into boys?"

"Huh." Niall nodded, a ghost of a smirk on his lips. "Good."

Harry and Liam exchanged looks, but brushed it off. Niall was a weird person - it made sense that he'd ask weird questions.

"Anyway!" Niall cleared his throat. "What kind of food do you guys wanna order?"

*****

Once they'd gotten their food and sat down at a table, they began eating. Niall told them about his love for Nandos and his little nephew Theo. He showed Harry and Liam a picture of the toddler and they both cooed.

"He's cute, isn't he?" Niall smiled fondly at the picture. "A little angel, he is. Unlike his father, that man tormented me through my childhood days. Have you two got any siblings?"

So Harry and Liam talked about their sisters. Harry talked about how Gemma was so teasing and annoying but overall she wasn't so bad - and Liam talked about how he'd grown up with Nicola and Ruth, wondering why he'd hadn't gotten his period yet.

The group laughed at Liam's story, and when the laughter subsided, Niall said, "Louis has four siblings though. And he's the oldest! Imagine what it's like to take care of _four_ human beings."

Harry tried to control his excitement when their conversation gravitated towards Louis. "Yeah, it would be just a handful. They're cute, though."

"Hmm, they are." Niall nodded. "Oh yeah, I forgot, you helped us find Phoebe at the mall!"

"Uh, yeah." Unlike Niall, Harry could _never_ forget the ordeal - after all, finding Phoebe had gotten him Louis' phone number.

"The twins are adorable, they love Louis so much, but Fizzy and Lottie are a little cheekier," Niall said, shaking his head. "They're all very sweet, though."

"Speaking of Louis," Liam said, shooting Harry a quick look, "You two are very close, right?"

"Yeah, we're best friends!" Niall said happily. "My other best friend is Zayn! We hang out a lot. They're both pretty quiet but they're so awesome."

"I hear Zayn's very good at art," Liam said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, he is. It's his hobby, he's always painting and drawing and stuff. If he likes you a lot he'll give you pieces of his artwork. Me and Louis have a lot, so do his family."

"Uh huh, we saw some of his paintings in Louis' room," Harry said, determined to keep Louis in their conversation.

"Louis likes them a lot! A painting is kind of like Zayn's token of friendship - it means he wants to be your friend. Zayn was Louis' first friend so his paintings are really precious to Louis," Niall explained while Harry internally cooed. That was so cute! Except - those were _Zayn's_ paintings... Louis treasured something that Zayn gave him...

"Those two seem close, are they dating?" Harry decided to shoot his shot - might as well get it over with. There really wasn't any point in pursuing Louis if he was dating someone else.

Niall nearly choked on his food when he laughed. "Ha! Louis and Zayn? No, they're definitely not. I mean, they're both gay, but they wouldn't date each other. That's not them. Anyway, they're both single."

Harry and Liam both visibly looked relieved.

Harry decided that that was enough talking about Louis and Zayn - lest Niall got suspicious - so he quickly changed the topic. "How do you feel about being on the footie team?"

The conversation gravitated towards the footie team and they talked for about an hour.

Even if their main purpose for befriending Niall was to know more about Louis and Zayn, Harry and Liam had to admit that Niall really was a pretty cool person.

He was really chatty and loud but he was also infectiously happy and cheerful. Harry could see why Louis and Zayn would surround themselves with someone like him.

*****

After they dropped Niall off at his house, Harry and Liam drove over to Harry's house.

"Hello, Liam dear!" Anne beamed at Liam as the two entered. "How are you doing?"

"Good, thanks Anne!" Liam smiled back. "How are you?"

"Good as well. What did you two do after school?"

"Um... we hung out with Niall," Harry said. "If you don't mind, Mom, we need to go discuss things now."

Anne huffed. "Fine. No need to be so rude. Do you boys want apple slices later?"

"Yes!" Liam always liked apple slices.

Anne went into the kitchen and the two boys went upstairs to Harry's room.

"So." Liam plopped down on Harry's bed. "Do you think that was successful?"

"Definitely." Harry threw himself onto the bed, lying face down to hide his lovesick little grin. "Louis and Zayn aren't dating. And he's single!"

"So is Zayn," Liam sighed dreamily. "This is awesome."

"Do you think we can continue this friendship with Niall? He seems like a really nice guy, and he can offer us _so_ much information about Louis and Zayn." Harry rolled over to look at Liam.

"I hope so." Liam crossed his legs. "I am DYING for more information."

"Niall's also a nice guy," Harry said, pinching Liam's leg. "Don't forget about poor Niall."

"Yeah, of course he is," Liam assured him. "He's a two-in-one. Nice guy I wanna be friends with, and a treasure trove of Louis and Zayn information."

Harry nodded in agreement. "He's definitely a special guy."

*****

The next day, during lunch, they heard a loud, Irish voice yelling, "Hey! Harry! Liam!"

They turned, and saw Niall running towards them - Louis and Zayn trailing behind him.

Harry immediately tensed, hoping he looked okay. His heart rate sped up, hands sweating nervously.

"Hi guys!" Niall reached them and grinned widely.

"Hey!" Harry said, trying to pretend that everything was normal and his crush wasn't right behind Niall.

"Hi," Louis mumbled shyly.

"Hey Louis," Harry said nonchalantly, hoping his voice was normal.

He glanced over at Liam, who was in some kind of trance, staring at Zayn with wide eyes.

Harry nudged Liam, who blinked and immediately said, "Hi."

"I wanted to ask, I know we just hung out yesterday but do you wanna hang out today after school too! Zayn and Louis will come too!" Niall gave them his best puppy eyes.

"Oh, um, sure!" Harry had stopped listening once he'd heard _Louis_. "We'd love to. Right, Liam?"

"Yeah." Liam smiled. "After school at the gates?"

"Yep!" Niall launched himself at Harry and Liam, giving them a big hug. "See you guys!"

He then turned and bounded away, leaving Louis and Zayn.

"See you," Louis said quietly, waving his fingers.

"Yeah, see you guys after school," Zayn said, smiling a little.

Then they both turned to follow Niall, disappearing into the sea of students.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed this chapter! feedback is appreciated :)


	9. Chapter 9

When the last bell rang, Harry and Liam were the first ones waiting at the gate.

They didn't want to be late, so instead they'd showed up too early. While the rest of the school was still leaving their classrooms and going to their lockers, Harry was trying to calm himself and was Liam pacing about nervously.

Harry checked his watch. "It's been one minute since the bell rang, why aren't they here yet? Did they decide that they don't like us and don't want to hang out with us anymore?"

"Chill out, H, we were just too early. Everyone usually starts leaving ten minutes after the final bell."

"Oh, great," Harry groaned. "Now we look like weirdos for being here so early."

"Hey, you were the one who jumped out of your seat and ran out of the classroom once you heard the bell ring."

"Damn it. I shouldn't have run - now I'm all sweaty and my hair is a mess." Harry pulled his compact mirror out of his bag and ran a hand through his hair.

"Oh, shut up. You look perfect, as always." Liam took the mirror out of Harry's hand. "I'm the one who needs the mirror."

They stood there for several minutes in silence, Liam fixing his hair and Harry trying to catch his breath from all the running. Soon, they could hear the sounds of their schoolmates exiting the building. They searched the crowd for Louis, Niall, and Zayn's faces, and after a few more minutes spotted them leaving the school.

"Here they come," Liam whispered, shoving the mirror back into Harry's hand. The two immediately looked away and tried to act as naturally as possible.

"Hi guys!" Niall waved at them. "Wow, you're here early."

"Yeah, we didn't know when you guys usually leave school so we thought we'd get here a bit earlier in case you guys leave really early," Harry said nonchalantly.

"Well, for future reference, we don't leave _that_ early." Niall peered outside the school gates. "The bus isn't here yet. I guess we'll have to walk, then."

They exited the gates and were about to stop walking when Louis tugged on Niall's sleeve. "Look! The bus is here, let's take the bus to the mall instead of walking there."

They all piled onto the bus. Niall sat by himself in the front while Harry, Liam, Zayn, and Louis sat in pairs.

"So, what are we going to do at the mall?" Liam asked.

"We'll just walk around and see, I guess." Niall shrugged. "I'm kinda hungry, we can go grab some food."

"You're _always_ hungry, Ni," Zayn said, rolling his eyes.

"Actually, I'm kinda hungry too," Louis piped up. "Can we go to McDonald's?"

"McDonald's it is!" Niall said happily.

They got off at their stop and made their way to the McDonald's. Harry wasn't too hungry so he got a milkshake, while Louis got ice cream and French fries. Niall got an entire burger meal but gave his fries to Zayn and his Coke to Liam. They all settled down at a table and began eating.

"So," Niall said to Harry after swallowing a bite of his burger. "I hear you and Liam are in the same group as Lou for the History project. How's it coming along?"

"Pretty good, yeah. We went to Louis' house recently to work on it."

"It's the big project, right? Like the one that will have a big influence on our final grades and all that."

"Yeah. Which is why I'm glad we're working with Louis, his brains will get us a good grade." Harry smiled at Louis, who blushed and hid behind his ice cream. _Oh my God he is cute._

"I'm not smart," he mumbled.

"We all know that's a lie," Niall dismissed. "Anyway, for me I'm doing it with Jack and Emma. I don't know Emma that well but she's nice."

"I like Jack," Louis said, making Harry (not so discreetly) turn towards him. "He's really nice and he lets me be in a group with him when there's group work in class."

Harry remembered the time several weeks ago when they'd done a group activity in History, and Harry had been about to ask Louis to be in his group when Jack had swooped in and got there first. He clenched his fist in jealousy, but said, "Yeah, Jack's nice."

"He's in my art class. You've got to come to the studio sometime to see his work, his self-portrait is _amazing_ ," Zayn practically gushed. "It's so lifelike! I wish I could paint like him."

"Your painting is already really lovely." Liam sensed an opportunity to talk to Zayn and took it. "We saw your paintings in Louis' room, and - wow! I loved the painting of the beach."

Zayn blushed slightly. "Thanks. I like that one too, it was pretty good, if I do say so myself."

They continued chatting about a variety of topics, and soon everyone was done with their food. Well, everyone except Louis.

"Louis, come on! You always eat so slow," Niall complained.

Louis stuck his tongue out at Niall, making Niall gasp and Harry laugh.

"Ugh. You're a slow eater _and_ rude."

"Shut up, Ni." Louis dipped a French fry into his ice cream and popped it into his mouth.

"Are you seriously eating French fries with ice cream?" Liam looked scandalized.

"Hey, it's delicious," Louis defended. "Ni, tell him."

"I have to agree with Lou, Liam." Niall stole one of Louis' fries and dipped it into Louis' ice cream. "It does taste pretty good."

"Don't steal my food." Louis slapped Niall's hand and Niall cackled.

"It's your punishment for eating so slow. They've got a new arcade and I want to go play!"

"You can just go without me," Louis suggested. "I suck at arcade games anyway."

"Really?" Zayn tilted his head. "It seems a bit mean to leave you here by yourself. You won't mind?"

"Nope." Louis ate another French fry. "You guys can go ahead, I'll meet you there when I'm done."

"Yay! I love you." Niall got up and gave Louis a giant bear hug. "I'll win an eraser for you."

Louis giggled, making Harry's heart burst. "See you guys later, then. Have fun!"

Liam and Zayn got up as well, but Harry stayed seated.

"Are you coming, H?" Liam slung his bag over his shoulder.

Harry paused - this was his chance to spend some alone time with Louis. He'd also probably be really awkward and ruin any possible chance of friendship between him and Louis, but - _this was his chance._ He shook his head. "Nah, I'll stay here with Louis."

Harry thought he heard a little choked noise coming from Louis, but decided he'd probably just heard something else. Niall stared at him for a second, before breaking into a wide grin. "Alright then. Bye guys!"

Louis and Harry were left at the table. There was an awkward silence - Louis had turned pink and was staring at his fries while Harry sipped at his milkshake. _Come on, Harry,_ Harry mentally yelled at himself. _Say something!_

"So..." Harry coughed, trying to stop his voice from shaking. "Niall tells me you're really good at football."

Louis looked up shyly. "Oh, um... he-he's probably just exaggerating."

"Nah, I don't believe that. I bet you're really good at it, you've got the figure for it."

Louis scoffed. "I'm really short, I doubt that's a good figure for a footballer."

"Come on, Lou!" The nickname slipped out of Harry's mouth as he got a little more comfortable. "Being short doesn't mean you can't play football. Niall says you're even better than him and _he_ made the team."

"I told you, he's exaggerating. I'm really not that good, I just play with Niall and Zayn sometimes."

Harry pouted. "Well, I don't believe you. I just know you're good at footie, you should have come to the tryouts! We're having another tryout when the second term starts, you could come then."

"No way, I'm never going to a tryout," Louis huffed. "I'm not good enough, and playing in front of a bunch of strangers scares me."

"I'm not a stranger, am I?" As soon as Harry said it, he mentally slapped himself. Of course he was a stranger to Louis - they'd barely ever talked.

"No you're not, but -" Louis suddenly stopped talking and his eyes widened.

"But what?" Harry asked, confused.

"Spider!"

"Spider?"

Louis squeaked and got out of his seat. Harry automatically did too, bewildered.

"Spider!" Louis shrieked, pointing at a tiny spider that was crawling on the table. He immediately ran behind Harry and grabbed Harry's shirt tightly in fear. Louis was so close to Harry - he was _touching_ Harry - and Harry's heart rate accelerated, his heart beating rapidly against his ribs. _Keep calm_ , he told himself. _You've got to protect Louis from the spider._

Harry spotted the spider and sighed. "Louis, it's just a tiny baby spider."

"Kill it!"

"It's so small, it's not going to hurt you." 

"You're scared too! I can feel your heart beating really fast," Louis said accusingly. "Kill it!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I don't need to _kill_ the poor thing -"

"Just get rid of it, _please_ ," Louis begged. His hands were grabbing onto Harry's shirt and Louis' head was resting on Harry's back, probably trying to hide from the spider. Harry was surprised that Louis wasn't being shy anymore and was talking quite freely to him - he was also practically spooning Harry.

Harry stopped moving, shocked that Louis was touching him. _Oh my God._ His heart was rabbiting so fast and Harry felt almost numb.

"Harry!" Louis' voice shook Harry out of his trance.

"Okay, okay, fine." Harry got a napkin and was about to get rid of the spider when he realized it was pretty hard to move when Louis was pulling on his shirt. "Um... can you let go of me for a second?"

"Oh. I, um, I - sorry." Louis let go of Harry's shirt.

"Thanks." Harry felt his face turn red as he bent down and coaxed the spider onto the napkin, then let the spider down on the floor. The spider scuttled away. "There, it's gone now."

He turned around to look at Louis, who was very pink in the face and was currently covering his face with his hands. Harry cooed internally - he was _so_ cute.

Louis peeked through his fingers. "It's gone?"

"Mhmm. You can finish your fries now."

Louis blushed and sat down. "Sorry for, you know... yelling at you and grabbing your shirt and stuff."

Harry laughed. "Hey, it's okay. It's normal to be scared of spiders."

"Yeah," Louis said quietly, returning to his shy self. "I guess so."

Harry studied Louis carefully. Louis was probably feeling very embarrassed, and Harry didn't want Louis to experience any negative emotions while he was with Harry. He had to think of something, quick.

"So, how are your sisters?"

Louis perked up at the mention of his little sisters, and a small smile crossed his face. "They're doing fine. They've got a dance recital soon, so they keep dancing and knocking things over. Phoebe also keeps stealing Lottie's makeup to experiment with looks for the recital, even though her dance teacher and the mums will be doing the makeup for them. Lottie's going mental."

"Sounds extremely chaotic."

"Yep. You should hear them - _Lou, Phoebe stole my makeup! Lou, Lottie hit me! Lou, Daisy called me stupid!_ "

Harry chuckled. "And you're the justice-dealing big brother, then?"

"Hmm, yeah, I guess." Louis made a face. "They always come to me when something happens but I'm not very good at scolding them. They tell me I'm too short to scold them."

Harry snorted. "To be fair, you are quite small."

"Hey, give me a break, I'm big!"

"How tall are you, then?"

"Five foot nine."

Harry choked back a laugh. "Yeah, right."

"I _am_!" Louis glared at Harry.

"Of course you are." Harry smirked when Louis swatted him playfully. He felt privileged that he could see _this_ Louis - the fun, sassy boy, instead of the shy and quiet one he usually saw. This was the Louis Niall and Zayn saw.

Louis finished his fries and stood up. "Alright, let's go to the arcade."

They found Niall at the prize counter. "Oh good, you finally finished eating!" Niall waved them over. "Liam and Zayn are somewhere, they left me all alone. Rude. Anyway, I'm glad you're here, Lou, I won an eraser for you!"

Niall shoved a flower-shaped eraser into Louis' face, making Louis smile a little. "Thanks, Niall."

"See? I don't break my promises." Niall grabbed Louis and Harry's hands. "Now, let's play!"

"I told you I suck at these, I'm not playing," Louis said, putting the eraser in his pocket.

"I suck at them too but I still play! I only won you that eraser because I played. And you usually always play with me even if you suck at it."

Louis tugged on Niall's sleeve and whispered something into Niall's ear. Harry stood there awkwardly. Niall pulled away from Louis and huffed. "Fine. You don't have to play. Harry, you play with me, then!" Niall dragged him towards a two-player basketball game.

"Basketball? C'mon, Niall, you know I'm a football guy." In reality, Harry wasn't too bad at basketball, but he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Louis.

"You don't need to be on the basketball team to play this game." Niall grabbed a basketball. "Grab a ball, let's see who can shoot the most hoops!"

Sighing, Harry grabbed a ball and started shooting. He wasn't very good at it but neither was Niall, and in the end, he won.

"Hmph. I thought you said you weren't a basketball guy," Niall said grumpily.

"I'm not. I just know how to shoot some hoops." Harry shrugged. "You didn't do bad at all."

"Are you kidding? You got almost double my score."

"If it makes you feel any better, Niall, if I was playing I'd get half your score," Louis interjected.

Niall hummed. "You're right. That does make me feel better. Now, let's go find Liam and Zayn!"

Liam and Zayn were at the claw machine. Liam was trying to grab a Batman toy while Zayn was giving him directions.

"Yes!" Liam shouted in joy when he got the toy. "Finally."

"There you are." Niall peered over Liam's shoulder to see what Liam had won. "Batman? Seriously?"

"Niall, I know for a fact that you own Power Rangers underwear," Zayn said, making both Harry and Liam snort.

Niall was silent for a few seconds. "Fair enough. Well, what do you guys want to play now?"

Harry looked at Louis and noticed that Louis was staring at one of those pop-the-balloon games. Above the game stand were a bunch of teddy bears, and Louis was staring at them, as if he wanted one of them. Zayn noticed too, and nudged Louis gently.

"Hey. You want one of those teddies?"

Louis blinked. "Um, kind of? But I suck at the game so I can't get one."

"I can win one for you," Harry offered. "I'm not too shabby at the game."

"It's alright, you don't have to." Louis said shyly.

"It's not a big deal." Harry dug around in his pocket for some spare change. "C'mon."

Harry went over to the game stall and handed the owner a few coins. The owner gave Harry a seven darts and told him that if he popped five balloons, he'd win a teddy bear.

"Har-ry! Har-ry! Har-ry!" Niall chanted, waving his arms in the air.

"Shut it, Niall, give him some peace and quiet to focus." Zayn kicked Niall in the shin lightly. Niall pouted and kicked back.

Harry grabbed the darts and tried to calm himself. Louis wanted a teddy bear so Harry needed to win it for him - he also didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of Louis. He felt Louis' eyes on him and he took a deep breath.

Harry only used six of his darts and he managed to pop five balloons. Niall cheered loudly, "Yay! Go Harry!" Harry couldn't stop smiling, feeling rather proud of himself. 

"Which bear would you like, young man?" the owner asked. 

"Louis?" Harry turned around to look at Louis, who flushed a light pink and pointed to one of the bears.

"Um, can I get the white, fluffy one, please?"

The owner grabbed the bear and handed it to Louis. Harry smiled fondly when Louis' eyes shone with childish delight as he cuddled the teddy bear. Louis turned to Harry. "Thank you!"

"No problem," Harry said nonchalantly, putting his hands in his pockets. 

"What are you going to name the teddy?" Zayn came closer to have a look at the teddy bear.

"You should name him Larry," Niall suggested.

"Larry?" Louis looked at Niall, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, Larry! It's the combination of your and Harry's names. Harry won the bear and the bear is yours, it's only fitting," Niall shrugged.

"Okay, then. I name him Larry." Louis patted the teddy's head before hugging him tight. Harry's heart was about to burst - this boy was way too cute.

Liam checked his watch. "We should probably be going back home."

"Hmm, yeah, I've got some homework to do." Niall stretched. "Let's go."

"Wait, I kinda wanna use the bathroom, could you guys wait for me? I'll be really fast." Louis piped up. 

"Sure, Lou. I'll hold your teddy for you." Niall held his hand out for Larry and Louis gave the bear to Niall, then he dashed off to find the bathroom.

Several minutes later, Zayn remarked, "Lou said he'd be quick and he's been gone for ages. The bathroom is literally ten seconds from here."

"Maybe there's some holdup in the bathroom, let's just wait a bit longer," Liam said.

After several more minutes, Harry was getting a little worried. Louis was so sweet and innocent - no one would hurt hi"Should I go check on him?"

"If you don't mind, Harry." Zayn craned his neck looking around for Louis.

Harry jogged in the direction of the bathroom, and spotted Louis standing outside, with Nick Grimshaw.

It wasn't a shock that Nick was here - many of their classmates would come to this mall after school - but why was Nick talking to Louis? Louis was looking down at his shoes and Nick had a malicious grin on his face, but when Nick spotted Harry he quickly patted Louis' back and walked away. Harry was too far away to clearly hear what Nick said, but he could make out a hissed, "Remember what I said," before Nick left.

"Hey, Louis. What was Nick talking to you about?"

"Oh, um, nothing," Louis said quietly, not looking at Harry. "Let's - let's go."

"No, seriously, what did he say?"

Louis was silent.

"I _knew_ he said something mean. Wait here, I'll go talk to him -" Harry was about to interrogate Nick when Louis grabbed his arm.

"Harry, can we please just go?"

There was something... _sad_ in Louis' voice that made Harry sigh. "Okay, let's go."

They started walking back to where the rest of the boys were. Harry noted that Louis had once again turned into a quiet, shy person. They'd just started getting comfortable with each other - Harry no longer had a heart attack every time he talked to Louis - but it seemed like all of that progress had gone away.

"Louis, whatever Nick said - you know he's an asshole, right? He's being deliberately mean to you and you shouldn't believe anything he says."

"Thanks, Harry, but... I'm fine." Louis fiddled with his jumper sleeve. 

_Damn it._ Harry had just managed to break through his walls and meet the _real_ Louis - and now Louis had rebuilt those walls and shut Harry out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed this chapter! feedback is appreciated!


	10. Chapter 10

The day after the mall, Liam met up with Harry at their lockers.

"Harry! Yesterday was amazing, I actually _talked_ to Zayn!" Liam said excitedly, but his excitement died down when he saw the frown on Harry's face. "What's wrong?"

"Look." Harry nodded his head in the direction of the hallway, where Louis was walking. He looked so soft and adorable as usual, but he looked so sad. It hurt Harry's heart to see Louis sad - Louis was an angel that deserved to be happy all the time. "I-it's so weird, yesterday we were getting along fine and then right before we left he shut me out again... and now he turns up to school looking so sad. I'm going to go talk to him."

Harry was about to walk over to Louis, but Liam grabbed his arm. "Wait - don't."

"What?" Harry turned around to look at Liam.

"We're pretty much strangers to him and he's so shy, I don't think he'd appreciate us talking to him while he's feeling so down," Liam cautioned. "I'm sure it's nothing serious. Let's just leave him alone, Niall and Zayn will make him feel better."

"Y-yeah. Okay. Let's find Niall and Zayn, then."

They didn't have to, though, because as soon as the words left Harry's mouth, Niall appeared beside Louis, and gave him a hug.

"C'mon, let's go." Liam tugged on Harry's sleeve, feeling like they were intruding on something. 

Harry took one last glance at Louis and followed Liam as they walked away.

"Here's some good new for you," Liam said as they walked. "Nick's going to be absent for a few days."

"Why?"

"Not sure. I think he's going somewhere for a festival or competition or whatever. At least we'll have a few Nick-free days."

"Hmm, yeah." Harry remembered that Nick had said something to Louis at the arcade - did that have anything to do with Louis being sad?

"My classroom is here." Liam stopped walking. "See you later, H."

"Bye." Harry waved and watched as Liam disappeared into the room.

*****

After they'd eaten lunch, Harry and Liam were walking down the hallway when they heard someone call their names. "Harry! Liam!"

Harry could recognize that Irish voice anywhere, and quickly turned around to see Niall grinning at them, Louis and Zayn standing next to him.

"Hey, Niall." Harry tried to calm his heartbeat as he and Liam walked towards the trio. Even though Louis wasn't looking at him, he still looked absolutely edible in his sweater and Harry had to refrain from picking him up and cuddling him. 

"Yesterday was really fun! Do you guys want to hang out again today?" Niall asked, giving Harry his best puppy eyes.

Harry's heart filled with happiness. Another chance to hang out with Louis was everything he wanted - it was nerve-wracking, but Harry really wanted to get closer to Louis. "Yeah, sure!"

"I'm in." Liam couldn't take his eyes off Zayn.

"Oh, um, I need to babysit my sisters today after school," Louis said, not looking at Harry.

"I thought the babysitter was coming over today," Zayn said.

"Uh, Mum wants someone else to help out."

"Why? Your babysitter has always been good at watching the kids by herself." Niall tilted his head.

"Um, I-I just can't hang out with you guys today," Louis said quickly, glaring pointedly at Niall.

Niall looked confused, but said, "Um, okay. I guess we'll meet up at the school gates after school, like yesterday?"

"Yep," Liam said, popping the 'p'. "Well, see you guys later, then!"

"Bye!" Harry flashed them one last smile before walking away with Liam. 

After school, Niall, Zayn, Harry and Liam went to Niall's house to play some FIFA. Liam was trying to get closer to Zayn, so Harry spent most of his time talking to Niall. Harry would have preferred spending his time with Louis, but he still thoroughly enjoyed himself. Niall was so cheery and happy and loud and it made Harry laugh every time Niall got angry that Harry had beaten him in FIFA.

After they'd left Niall's house, Liam came over to Harry's for dinner.

"I heard that you boys were able to spend some time with your crushes today," Anne said, wiggling her eyebrows. 

Both Harry and Liam blushed, making Gemma smirk. "Well, how was it?"

"It was amazing!" Liam gushed. "I _finally_ got Zayn's number! And he's the coolest person! We've got a lot in common and I'm actually getting closer to him."

"How about you, H?"

"Oh. Louis couldn't come today. Something about babysitting his sisters."

"Aw, too bad." Gemma patted Harry on the back. "At least you know he's a responsible person."

"Yeah, I guess." The way Louis had acted earlier bothered Harry a little - the way Louis hadn't looked Harry in the eye and how his excuse had seemed a little weak. But Harry decided to let it go - Louis had looked pretty sad that morning, so Harry should give him a break. Harry didn't know Louis all that well, but he knew Louis was sweet and innocent, and Louis wouldn't be doing anything dishonest.

The next day, Niall didn't invite Liam and Harry to hang out with them, and Harry was okay with it. They were still, well, _strangers_ after all and Harry was already grateful that he'd had the chance to hang out with Louis once. It was also probably good that he wasn't around Louis too much, or else he'd explode.

After school, Harry and Liam were leaving school when he saw Louis walking with Niall and Zayn in the direction of the mall. He didn't think much of it - it was perfectly normal for Louis to hang out with his best friends when school was over. 

Following the day at the mall, Harry had been pretty excited for History. They would keep working on their group project, and Harry would have a lot more opportunities to talk to Louis and hang out with him.

Unfortunately for him, Mr. Andrews announced that there would be a test.

"We're a bit behind on the material so you guys are gonna have to take a break from your project to prepare for the test," he said, making the entire class groan.

Jack raised his hand. "Mr. Andrews, that's unfair! We'll be missing an entire week to work on our project."

"Don't worry, Jack, I'll be extending the deadline by one week so you still have the same amount of time to work on the project." The class seemed a little bit happier after Mr. Andrews said that, but Harry was still a little upset. He'd been so excited and ready to get closer to Louis, but now that they were taking a break from the project, he'd lost his main excuse to talk to Louis.

He glanced over at Louis, hoping that maybe Louis looked a little downcast too. However, Louis didn't look downcast at all - he even looked a little relieved that they wouldn't be working on the project for a while. Saddened by this, Harry turned his focus back to Mr. Andrews as their teacher began explaining the material for the test.

Niall invited Harry and Liam to hang out with him, Zayn and Louis again a few days later.

"I, um, I've got h-homework to do," Louis stuttered when Niall invited them. "I can't come today."

"What homework?" Niall asked.

"U-um, I mean I have to do some studying," Louis corrected himself.

"Didn't you guys just do a test? Now there's another one?"

"Um, no, my mum just wants me to do some studying," Louis mumbled. 

Niall looked bewildered. He said a quick "see you guys," to Harry and Liam before he and Zayn pulled Louis away. As the three walked down the hallway, Harry and Liam could see Niall and Zayn questioning Louis while Louis just shrugged his shoulders.

"Sorry you can't hang out with Louis, Harry," Liam said sympathetically.

"Ehh, it's fine, I guess." Harry took one last glance at Louis to appreciate his adorable, tiny figure before he and Liam started walking in the opposite direction. 

"It's weird though, he's went back to being all shy and stuttery now," Liam commented. "I thought he'd kind of warmed up to us but apparently not."

"Yeah," Harry said, disappointed. He'd made so much progress with Louis, only for all of it to disappear. He hadn't even said a single word to Louis since the day at the mall and it was a bit upsetting that he couldn't get closer to Louis.

Harry didn't understand it. He didn't understand how Louis could be friendly to him one second, then so quiet and shy the next. It was so _strange_ , how he and Louis could have made so much progress one day, then have all of that progress thrown out of the window the next day.

A few weeks ago, Harry would probably be glad that he wasn't spending so much time with Louis. He always felt that he was just about to combust whenever he was around Louis - spending less time with Louis meant less chances for Harry to make a fool of himself in front of this perfect boy. But now that he'd had a taste of what it was like to actually talk and hang out with Louis, he wanted more. 

He genuinely enjoyed himself whenever he was around Louis and he'd (kind of) gotten over his constant fear of looking stupid in front of Louis as he slowly got more comfortable around him. He just wanted to get to know Louis better and be his friend, was that too much to ask?

A few days later, Harry and Liam were lounging outside of the History classroom when Liam stood up straight.

"H, I need to use the bathroom. If I don't come back in time, can you just tell Mr. Andrews?"

"Yeah, sure."

Liam went to the bathroom, and just as he left, Harry spotted Louis and Chris waiting outside the classroom too. Chris. The guy who'd told Harry, _I might ask Louis out_. He was chatting to Louis, and Louis was _smiling and chatting back_.

Harry couldn't take it. He couldn't stand the idea of Louis liking somebody else, so without thinking, he walked over. "Hey, guys."

Chris grinned at Harry. "Hey, Styles!"

Louis, however, just turned his head a little to say a soft "hey," to Harry before turning back to face Chris again.

"So, um, what are you guys talking about?"

"Movies." Chris shifted a little to allow Harry into their space. "Have you watched _Inception_ , Harry?"

"Yeah, of course, who hasn't?"

"Well, Lou hasn't," Chris said. Harry's fist clenched at the nickname.

"I told you, Chris, I don't have the time. I want to watch it but my sisters always want to watch Disney movies and I think they're a bit too young for _Inception_." Louis' eyes were on Chris and he was practically ignoring Harry.

"Can't you watch it when you're not babysitting your sisters?" Harry asked.

"I still don't have time." Louis directed his words at Harry but he didn't even look at him. 

"Oh well, if you ever come to my house I'm definitely making you watch it," Chris said, making a face. "What kind of person hasn't watched _Inception_? I'm going to have to fix that immediately, I don't wanna be friends with someone that hasn't watched it."

Louis playfully slapped Chris' arm. "Hey!"

"Aw, c'mon, Lou, I was just kidding." Chris slung his arm around Louis and Louis let out a small giggle.

Harry swallowed. It was like he wasn't even there. When did Louis get so comfortable with Chris? They were practically flirting right in front of him and Harry felt like he was about to cry. Luckily for him, Mr. Andrews arrived and they all went inside the classroom. After telling Mr. Andrews where Liam was, Harry slumped into his seat dejectedly and tried to convince himself that it was nothing.

It was normal for Louis to be friendly to other people. It wasn't like Harry was the only person in the school. But - well, Louis seemed so comfortable with Chris while he had completely ignored Harry. 

He knew Louis was rather introverted, so maybe Louis had gotten tired of social interaction and he needed to recharge, so maybe that was why he hadn't been talking to Harry. 

Harry was pretty sure that wasn't the reason, though. Harry knew that Chris and Louis didn't know each other all that well, so Louis wouldn't be talking to Chris if he needed a break from social interaction.

Was it something Harry had done? He couldn't recall doing anything inappropriate or out of order the day they went to the mall. Louis had seemed perfectly fine talking to Harry until he'd gone to the bathroom. 

Was it something that Nick had said? But - what could Nick have said to make Louis behave that way? Before, Nick had only criticized Louis' looks, but that wouldn't stop Louis from being friendly with Harry... right?

So maybe it was Harry's fault, but he didn't even know what he'd done.

"Is it because I said he was small?" Harry was sitting at the dining table, eating dinner with his mother and sister.

"Nah," Gemma said through a mouthful of mashed potatoes. "Doesn't seem likely."

"Is it because I won him that teddy bear?"

Gemma rolled her eyes. "Why would he avoid you if you did something nice for him?" 

"Is it because he got embarrassed for being scared of a spider?"

"Maybe. He seems like a sensitive boy," Anne said. 

"What am I supposed to do, then? He's being all weird and cold to me." Harry sniffled. 

"Give him some time, if he's actually embarrassed he'll eventually get over it." Gemma piled some more potatoes onto her plate. 

"It's been a week!"

"Then give him more time! Maybe he does just want to recharge after a social interaction. Even if he doesn't know Chris that well, Chris has probably been talking to Louis longer than you have. You're new to him so maybe he needs some time away. Anyway, if you're really that worried, just talk to his friends. They'll know what's bothering him."

"But then it'll be so obvious I have a crush on their friend! I can't risk that," Harry protested.

"Would you rather have a few people know who your crush is, or do you want Louis to talk to you again?" Anne finished her dinner and put her plate in the sink. "I'm sure it's nothing, maybe he's got something going on at home and you've got nothing to do with it. Just ask and find out, and if it's really your fault then we'll figure out how to fix it."

"Yeah, okay, then." Harry stared at the peas on his plate. "I guess I'll do that."

After dinner, he texted Niall.

_harry: hey_

_nialler: hey harry!_

_harry: can i ask you something_

_harry: about louis_

_niall: yeah sure_

_harry: he's been acting weird around me_

_harry: at least i think he is_

_niall: wdym_

_harry: like today i tried to talk to him and chris but he completely ignored me_

_harry: but we were getting along so great when we all went to the mall tgt_

_harry: maybe i'm just imagining it but... just wanted to make sure yk_

_niall: he has been acting a little weird lately_

_niall: did anything happen at the mall_

_harry: ummm_

_harry: when he took a long time in the bathroom i went to check on him and nick was talking to him outside of the bathroom?_

_niall: wait WHAT_

_niall: harry i've got to go, can you meet me at my locker tmr before school_

_harry: k_

_niall: alright bye_

_harry: bye_

Harry turned his phone off and put it on his nightstand. The way Niall had reacted after Harry had told him about Nick worried Harry a little, but Harry tried to forget it as he pulled out his laptop and got started on his homework.

As promised, Harry met up with Niall at his locker before school the next day, and Zayn was there too.

"Hey, Harry. I hope you don't mind that I've brought Zayn along," Niall said when he saw Harry approaching.

"It's fine. What did you want to talk about?"

"Last night you said Nick was talking to Louis?"

"Um, yeah." Harry scratched his head. "I didn't hear what they were saying but I think I could make out Nick saying 'remember what I said' right before he left? Louis was acting a little weird after it too."

Niall and Zayn exchanged looks. 

"Well, Louis started acting a little weird after we went to the mall, so that could be the cause of the problem," Zayn said.

"Yeah, but... Nick has only ever targeted Louis' appearance, what could Nick have said that would make Louis stop being friendly to me?"

Niall shrugged. "I don't know, but if I know anything it's that Nick's a bit of a dick. We'll talk to Louis and try to figure out what Nick said to him."

"Yeah, okay." Harry played with his shirt nervously. "Sorry for bothering you guys about it, I just thought Louis' behavior was a little weird."

Niall waved his hand dismissively. "Harry, you're not bothering us at all. We've been trying to figure out why Louis has been acting weird and you're helping us out."

"Oh, good." Harry said, relieved. 

"We'll tell you what we found after we've talked to Lou." Niall opened his locker and started rummaging around. "See you around, H. And thanks for telling us about Nick."

"No problem. Bye, guys."

As Harry walked away, he remembered how every time Niall invited Harry and Liam to hang out with them, Louis would excuse himself and say that he needed to go home. But when Harry and Liam _weren't_ invited to hang out with them, Harry saw Louis following Niall and Zayn to the mall. So Louis was deliberately trying to avoid Harry.

Well. That kinda hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well this chapter kinda sucked, oops
> 
> feedback is appreciated!


	11. Chapter 11

So, there was good news and bad news.

The good news was that Louis and Harry were getting closer. They were doing a group project together and they'd even hung out once, and Harry felt so excited that he and Louis were _finally_ talking.

The bad news was that Louis was now deliberately ignoring him.

Harry felt like he was about to cry as he vented to about it. They were eating lunch on the bleachers instead of in the cafeteria like they normally did, so they could get away from their friends and have a private conversation.

"I just don't get it, Li," Harry said glumly. "We were getting along _so well_ and now he's ignoring me. He literally makes excuses to go home when Niall invites us to hang out, does he really hate me that much?"

"Harry, I don't think it's your fault," Liam comforted. "Maybe he's just not having a good week and is being a little unsocial. Besides, didn't you say that you saw Nick talking to Louis? I bet that's got something to do with it."

"But what if it doesn't? What if it's really something I did? What if Louis is going to ignore me forever?" Harry sniffled. "I just wanted to be friends with him."

"Harry, you didn't do anything wrong. How about we just wait until Niall and Zayn find out what's actually happening? If it really is you, I'm sure you can apologize and fix things."

Harry chewed and swallowed the last of his food. "Yeah, okay. I hope Louis is fine, he looked a little sad all week." They finished eating their lunch and made their way back into the school building, heading towards their lockers, when they spotted Niall, Zayn and Louis.

The three were walking towards them but hadn't seemed to notice Harry or Liam yet - Louis was squished between Niall and Zayn, and the two friends were talking urgently to him while Louis stared at his shoes as they walked.

Louis looked up slightly and made eye contact with Harry. His eyes widened and he jumped a little, before quickly looking down at his shoes again and quickening his pace. As the Harry got nearer to them, he could make out bits of their conversation.

"Lou, _please_. We know something's going on with you. We're your best friends and we're worried, please tell us what's going on," Niall said, too busy talking to Louis to notice Harry and Liam.

"Ni, I told you, I'm _fine_ ," Louis insisted. "Leave me alone."

"You're not fine!" Zayn put his hand on Louis' shoulder. "Don't try to fool us like that. What did Nick say to you?"

" _Nothing_ ," Louis mumbled, although the sad expression on his face said otherwise.

Niall and Zayn sighed simultaneously, which would almost be comedic if the situation wasn't so serious. 

The two groups passed each other in the hallway without any words. Liam turned to look at them worriedly. "Louis doesn't seem to be opening up, not even to Niall and Zayn."

Harry bit his lip. "Yeah. We shouldn't push him that much if he doesn't want to talk, but... it's worrying. I hope he's okay." He turned too, and watched as Louis, Niall, and Zayn walked further away. Louis' hunched posture and the way he hung his head set off a protective feeling in Harry's chest. He wanted to run towards Louis, pick him up, cuddle him, and protect him from all that was bad in the world. Louis was too sweet and innocent and pure and he didn't deserve any kind of sadness.

"C'mon, let's go." Liam tugged on Harry's sleeve and they both turned around and started walking again. "Nick's back, by the way."

"Oh." Harry made a face. 

"You promised Demi you'd talk to him," Liam reminded Harry. "Besides, this could be a good chance to find out what Nick said to Louis."

"Yeah, I guess so." Harry ran a hand through his curls. "Let's go find him, then."

The two boys made a quick pit stop at their lockers to grab a few things, then they made their way to the cafeteria, where Nick would usually stay until the end of lunch.

"Hi Harry! Hi Liam!" Nick waved at them when he spotted the two, and gestured for them to join him at the lunch table. "How come you guys didn't eat with us today?"

"Oh, just wanted to talk privately, I guess," Harry said as he sat down facing Nick. "Uh, Nick, we've got to talk to you."

"Okay?" Nick raised an eyebrow at the seriousness in Harry's voice. "What do we need to talk about?"

"Louis. Uh, Louis Tomlinson."

Nick rolled his eyes at the mention of Louis' name. "Why? Are you still mad at me for telling the truth about his looks?"

Liam gritted his teeth. "This is exactly the kind of behavior we need to talk about."

"Don't recall asking you, Payne."

Under the table, Harry tapped Liam's foot with his shoe, trying to tell him _I've got this_. Harry was one of the few people Nick would never be rude to, and would actually listen to. "Nick, come on. Louis isn't ugly, and if somehow you think he is, you shouldn't be so rude about it all the time."

"Why? I'm just being honest," Nick said. "Being honest is good."

Harry resisted the urge to roll his own eyes. "Not when your honesty is hurtful and meaningless. What did Louis Tomlinson ever do to you, anyway?"

Nick opened his mouth to speak, but closed it and squinted at Harry. Finally, he said, "He just annoys me, that's all."

"He's not the only person you're rude to, though. Why are you always so rude to everyone?"

Nick huffed. "Dunno. I'm not being mean, I'm just being honest and voicing my opinions. There's nothing wrong with that."

Harry bit back a groan. Why was Nick so hard to deal with? "Okay, just - listen. First, stop being so rude all the time. It's upsetting and a lot of people don't like you because of it. Second, what did you say to Louis at the mall arcade?"

Nick seemed to stop moving. "Um..."

"The mall arcade! I saw you talking to Louis outside the bathrooms. What did you say to him?"

Nick shrugged. "Nothing much. Just said hi."

"I'm pretty sure you said something more than just hi."

"How do you know I said more than that?"

"Just tell me what you said."

"Why do you want to know anyway?"

" _Nick_."

"Fine. I told him he was an ugly, idiotic loser who didn't deserve to hang out with someone like you, and that you were only pretending to be his friend because you pitied him." Although Nick had been reluctant, when he finally said the truth he angled his chin upwards and he looked somewhat proud of what he'd done. "It's true. You're popular and handsome and smart and he's just a pathetic loser."

Harry's eyes widened and he clenched his fists. How could Nick say that to _anyone_ , much less Louis, an adorable, innocent person who had done absolutely nothing wrong? "What? _Why_ would you say anything like that?"

Nick swallowed at the anger in Harry's eyes. "I-I saw you hanging out with him and I didn't like it. You shouldn't be hanging out with people like him, H."

"That's not for you to decide!" Harry yelled a little louder than he wanted to, and a hush fell over the cafeteria as people turned to look at him. "You know what? Screw this. C'mon, Li, let's go." Harry stood up and stormed away, quickly followed by Liam.

"H, wait up!" Liam had to quicken his pace to catch up with Harry. 

Harry's fists were still clenched tightly. "Why would Nick ever do something like that? Just _why_? I can't believe I'm friends with someone like him."

"At least we know it's not your fault that Louis has been avoiding you, what Nick said probably hit him really hard and he started avoiding you because of it."

"Yeah, I guess so." Harry sighed. " _God_. I just feel like Nick's way past redemption. He doesn't understand how hurtful he's being. Oh, and poor Louis. Did he stop being friendly to me because Nick made him think he wasn't worthy of my friendship or something?"

"I think that's what happened, yeah. Can you imagine thinking you're not worthy to be someone's friend? That's just messed up."

"Let's go find Niall and Zayn and tell them we know what Nick said." Harry took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "And then I've got to talk to Louis."

They found Niall and Zayn in one of the history classrooms.

"Harry! Liam!" Niall called them over. "Louis finally told us what Nick said to him, and you won't believe it, that jerk -"

"Yeah, we just managed to get Nick to tell us what he said to Louis too." Harry and Liam sat down at desks close to Niall and Zayn's.

"What did he say? I want to make sure he didn't lie to you about what he said." Zayn squinted his eyes suspiciously.

Harry coughed. "H-he said... he said that he told Louis that he was a loser and he didn't deserve to hang out with me and that I'm only being nice to him because I pity him."

There was a few seconds of silence as all four boys felt appalled at Nick's horrible words. 

"Well, he didn't lie to you guys," Zayn said finally. "That's what he actually said to Louis."

Niall slammed the table with his fist, making everyone jump. Realizing he'd scared them, he apologized. "Sorry guys, I'm just... Lou's so sweet and nice and he's never done anything to hurt anyone, and even if he did it's just so messed up that Nick would tell him that. Harry, I'm telling you, that friend of yours is a prick."

"Yeah, I know." Harry exhaled. "Look, guys, I'm so so sorry he said that. He's become too comfortable insulting people and I've never really tried to stop him all the years I've known him."

"Look, Harry, don't apologize for his behavior, it's not your fault," Zayn said. 

"Yeah, don't beat yourself up about it." Liam looked around the classroom. "By the way, where's Louis?"

"He's volunteered to help Mrs. Dewberry decorate her classroom today," Niall explained. "He's kind of a teacher's pet."

It made Harry smile, hearing that Louis was helping a teacher out. It was adorable and sweet that he'd volunteer to help, especially since decorating classrooms was something that most of the students hated doing. "Will he be at home after school?" Harry asked. "I want to talk to him."

Niall and Zayn exchanged looks. Zayn nodded, and Niall said, "Yeah, he probably will be. It's a good idea that you wanna go talk to him, but uh, remember that he's a little sensitive and shy, so... yeah."

"I know, I just wanted to make sure he knows what Nick said is crap and untrue." Harry checked his watch when he heard the preparation bell ring. "We gotta get to class. See you guys."

They all started getting up and slinging their schoolbags over their shoulders. As they parted ways, Niall waved at Harry and said, "I just want to tell you, it's really great how you're looking out for Louis. You're a good guy Harry." He flashed Harry a grin and disappeared into the sea of students.

After school, Harry went home and tried to prepare himself. He'd decided that he was going to go to Louis' house and talk to him one-on-one, all by himself. It was probably going to be the scariest thing he'd ever done, but Harry needed to do it. He couldn't imagine how Louis had felt after Nick had talked to him - to be told you weren't worthy to be someone's friend must have made Louis feel so bad about himself. Louis' self-esteem was probably at a low point right now, and Harry wanted to help make Louis feel better, even if it meant he'd probably have a heart attack while being alone with Louis.

He set his schoolbag in his room and went back downstairs to whip up a batch of soft sugar cookies. It was such a cliché thing to make cookies for someone, but Harry hoped they would help cheer Louis up and show that Harry really did care about Louis.

About an hour and a half later, the cookies were done, and they were decorated with blue icing and green sprinkles. He carefully placed them in a box and slipped out of the front door, heading towards Louis' house. He rang the doorbell, heart hammering in his chest.

A blonde girl answered the door, and Harry vaguely remembered that this was Lottie. 

"Um, hey, you're Lottie, right? I'm Harry, a classmate of Louis'. Is he here?" Harry asked.

Lottie blinked as she recognized Harry. "Yep. Come in." She turned around and yelled into the house, "Lou! You have a guest!"

Harry entered the house, heart stopping when he saw Louis at the top of the staircase. He was in a large, oversized hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. His hair was messy and unruly and sticking up in several places, but somehow still looked so soft. He obviously hadn't expected Harry so he didn't look as put together as he usually did, but somehow he looked even more adorable and gentle.

"H-Harry?" Louis' eyes widened and his face immediately turned bright red. "U-um, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you." Harry suddenly realized that maybe it wasn't the best idea to show up unannounced, especially since he didn't know Louis that well. "Can I?"

"U-uh, yeah," Louis coughed. "We can talk in my, uh, room."

Harry followed Louis up the stairs and into Louis' room. It was a little messier than he remembered, but it still had the warn, cozy, Louis-y feeling and Harry loved it. Louis sat down on his slightly rumpled bed, and Harry sat down next to him.

"Where's Liam? I-is this about the project?" Louis shifted a little bit away from Harry, which made Harry's heart sink.

"No, this isn't about the project, I wanted to talk to you." Harry gripped his cookie box tightly and tried to calm his nerves. "Listen, I know what Nick said to you."

Louis froze. "Did Niall and Zayn tell you?"

"Well - yeah, but I also talked to him and he told me the truth." Harry took a deep breath. "Louis, I just want you to know that everything Nick said is a bunch of crap."

"It's _not_ ," Louis mumbled, staring at his sweater paws. "It's true. You're so popular and talented and I'm just s-some _loser_. I'm not worthy of being your friend."

The sadness in Louis' voice broke Harry. He'd been so nervous to come here and talk to Louis by himself, but all the nerves fell away as his need to reassure Louis took over. "Louis, listen to me. You're not a loser. You're smart and talented and hardworking and I _like_ you. I like you, okay? I like that you're an awesome brother who takes care of all of his siblings, I like that you're not self-absorbed like some of the people I know, I like that you're sweet and kind and a genuinely good person. Please believe me when I say I want to be your friend."

Louis looked up and they made eye contact. Blue met green and Harry was taken aback by the sheer beauty and depth that Louis' eyes held. _How was he so perfect?_ Harry's words seemed to have really resonated with Louis, but after a few seconds he looked away. "But - we're so different. You're the popular golden boy everyone loves and I'm just the quiet, shy nerd that sits in the corner. People like us... we're not meant to be friends."

Harry sighed, exasperated. "Louis. That doesn't matter. I've hung out with you several times now, and I really enjoyed myself, and I'm not just saying that to be nice. It doesn't matter that we're two different types of people - what matters is that we have a good time together. Do you enjoy hanging out with me?"

Louis nodded slowly. "Mhmm."

"Well then, if you enjoy hanging out with me and I enjoy hanging out with you, I think that justifies us being friends, don't you think?"

Louis fiddled with his sweater paws. "But Nick said -"

"Screw what Nick said. His opinion doesn't matter. Will you please let _me_ decide who I want to be friends with?" Harry gently shifted closer to Louis. "Please?"

Louis bit his lip and he was silent for several seconds. Those seconds felt like eternity for Harry, and he felt like his heart rabbiting rapidly in his chest. The suspense and the fact that his leg was touching Louis' leg was way too much for him.

"Yeah, okay," Louis almost whispered. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, and without thinking, he threw his arms around Louis and hugged him tightly. Realizing he might be pushing Louis' boundaries, Harry quickly pulled away, but he was still grinning widely.

"Oh! I almost forgot, I made you some cookies." Even though Harry had been gripping the box tightly the entire time, he'd practically forgotten about the cookies. He handed Louis the box. "Here you go."

Louis' mouth opened in shock. "Y-you shouldn't have. How can I repay you? I-"

"Louis, it's fine," Harry interrupted. "You were looking a bit sad all week and I thought these might cheer you up."

"Thank you so much!" It was Louis' turn to spontaneously hug Harry, and when he pulled away, both of them were blushing.

"Besides... I kinda want to apologize. Nick's my friend and I couldn't stop him from being so rude to you, I'm sorry." Harry looked at this shoes, ashamed.

"Don't be sorry!" Louis said quickly. "It's not your fault, you shouldn't have to apologize for something someone else did."

"...So we're okay?" Harry met Louis' eyes again. "You'll stop avoiding me now?"

Louis turned bright pink. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay, I get it." Harry smiled. "Just... talk to us the next something like that happens."

"Okay." Louis looked down at the cookies in his hand. "Um... do you mind if I eat these now?"

"Go ahead! They're your cookies." 

Louis opened the box and ate one. "Wow, Harry! These are really good."

Harry beamed at that. He loved it when people appreciated his cooking, and the fact that _Louis Tomlinson was complimenting his cookies_ seemed almost unreal. As their conversation drifted away to another topic, Harry couldn't help but feel proud of himself. He'd managed to talk to Louis one-on-one without making a complete fool of himself, and it felt really good to know that he and Louis were actually _friends_.

As Louis ate the cookies and talked at the same time, a few crumbs collected at the corner of his mouth. He looked absolutely adorable with his oversized sweater and sweatpants, his hair all soft and messy, crumbs at the corner of his mouth, and his blue eyes wide and sparkling as he got excited about whatever he was talking about it. Harry felt his heart thump.

Yep. He was definitely in love with Louis Tomlinson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please give me some honest feedback! what you liked, what you didn't like, things you'd like to see in the future... they'd all be helpful to me :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry that this update is nearly a week late, i've been very busy with schoolwork and i was struggling to write this properly. hope you enjoy this chapter!

Harry wasn't good at art.

It was something he'd known for basically his entire life, and something he's sure everyone knew. He didn't mind it - he was good at other things like football, and he hasn't even touched anything art related since art stopped being a mandatory subject a few years ago.

Well, he hasn't touched anything art related up until now. Right now, he was sitting in the art room with a few other students after school, listening to Mrs. Dewberry's welcome speech.

"Welcome to the school's decorating and art team!" Mrs. Dewberry beamed at them, standing in front of a large whiteboard that had 'WELCOME!' scrawled across it. 

Harry felt out of place there, among all of the art supplies and the student's paintings that decorated the walls - he wasn't good at art at all. So how did he end up joining the decorating and art team? Well, Mrs. Dewberry had taught him art a few years ago, and since she doubled as an English teacher, she'd taught Harry English last year too. She had approached Harry and invited him to join the team, insisting that even though he wasn't the best artist, he would be a useful member as he was tall and strong and he could help paint or stick or glue where others couldn't reach. Harry loved Mrs. Dewberry too much to say no, and besides, it didn't sound too bad. It would be relaxing to help people decorate the school, and it would probably do Harry some good to branch out and join something other than the football team.

As Mrs. Dewberry continued talking, Harry's eyes drifted around the art room, trying to see who he'd be spending the rest of the school year decorating with. He recognized a few classmates, all of who were brilliant at art, which made Harry feel even more out of place, but he quickly forgot about them when he saw who was sitting in the front of the art room.

Louis and Zayn.

Harry's breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened. Suddenly, he remembered that Niall had said that Louis helped Mrs. Dewberry decorate her classroom, and it all made sense - if Louis had helped out before, Mrs. Dewberry would definitely ask him to join her club.

Louis was wearing a pair of overall shorts, a stark contrast to his usual over sized clothes, but he still looked absolutely beautiful and adorable. His bangs were swept to the side, revealing his shining blue eyes, and his feet dangled above the floor as he listened to Mrs. Dewberry.

So Harry would be spending the rest of the school year decorating the school with Louis? He sat up a little straighter at the thought, but his focus was redirected back onto Mrs. Dewberry when the teacher clapped her hands and said, "Well, that's it for my welcome speech. Any questions?"

A girl to Harry's left raised her hand. "What's the first project we're doing?"

"I was going to talk about it after the questions. Are there any other questions before I move on to our first project?" The group was silent, so Mrs. Dewberry continued talking. "We're going to be decorating classrooms first! There are so many rooms in this school so it will probably take us a long time and it might even take us the entire year, but we won't be doing very complex designs and we won't be decorating every classroom. Teachers will send us requests if they want us to decorate and we've already got a request from Mr. Turner."

While Mrs. Dewberry rummaged around her desk for something, Louis turned to look around the room, probably seeing who else was in the club. When his eyes landed on Harry, Louis let out a tiny, adorable squeak, and Harry mustered a weak smile and wave, mouthing, _Hi_. 

"Here we go!" Mrs. Dewberry pulled out a slip of paper from her desk. "Mr. Turner's request. As you all know, he's a math teacher so he says he'd like math-related designs, but not simple things like the addition and subtraction signs, he wants something a teeny bit more complex to fit the high school math curriculum. How about you all get into a few small groups and start discussing and we'll have a big group brainstorm after?"

Everyone started getting up and drifting towards different corners of the room. Zayn waved Harry over to the front of the room, where he and Louis sat. "Hey, Harry. Didn't know you were interested in art."

"I'm not, actually." Harry sat down next to the pair. "I somehow got dragged into this club even though I'm terrible at art."

"Don't worry, I'm terrible at art too," Louis piped in. "I can't draw or paint at all, but I like cutting things out and sticking them and all that so I joined this team."

"Don't sell yourself short, Louis," Mrs. Dewberry said. The three jumped, not realizing that they had been close enough to the teacher's desk so that Mrs. Dewberry could hear them. "You may not be the best at drawing, but you've got a good eye for things, and that's valuable for decorating. The same goes for Harry."

The two boys blushed at the compliment. Even though Harry had seen Louis blush countless times, he still found it adorable how Louis' cheeks flushed and his eyes shone and how he looked down at his shoes.

"Alright, get to discussing, boys." Mrs. Dewberry stood up and walked over to an empty corner of the room to give the three some privacy. "I expect some good ideas from you!"

Zayn pulled a piece of paper from his bag and the three got to work. Ten minutes later, they had a rough sketch of their idea, and they shared it with the rest of the club. By the end of their meeting, they had mostly finished their idea for Mr. Turner's room.

"I'm impressed, you guys are really fast workers," Mrs. Dewberry said while the group started packing up. "We'll have our next meeting in a few days. See you!"

They filed out of the classroom and Zayn waved at Harry. "Bye."

"Bye, Harry," Louis said, giving him a shy smile. 

"Bye, guys." Harry watched rather enviously as Louis and Zayn left together. He knew they weren't dating, but he still couldn't help feeling jealous. He wanted to be in Zayn's position - he wanted to be Louis' best friend, and someday... maybe even date him. 

The next morning, Harry was waiting for Liam at the school gates like he usually did. However, Liam, who was usually calm and collected, ran towards Harry with an almost manic expression when he saw him. "Harry!"

"Whoa, slow down there, cowboy." Harry reached out both hands to stabilize Liam when his friend nearly fell over from the momentum. "Why are you running? Class doesn't start for another thirty minutes."

"Because, because - I have something to tell you!" 

Slightly bewildered, Harry turned and started walking towards the school with Liam walking next to him. "Alright. What's up?"

"Okay, so, last night me and my family went out for dinner and we went to that little Italian place, next to the comic book store."

Harry's stomach grumbled. "Lucky. They've got really good pasta there, I should go there for dinner sometime."

" _Anyway_ , I was halfway through my meal when the door opened and guess who walked in?"

"Um, I don't know... Danny DeVito?"

"No."

"Cheryl Cole?"

"No, Harry. Guess _properly_."

"Oh come on, just tell me, Li."

Liam's eyes were practically bulging out of his head when he said, "Zayn and his family! They walked in and I was freaking out, but I freaked out even more when he started walking towards me."

"Ooh, what did he do?" Harry didn't want to admit it, but Liam's energy was infecting him and he was pretty invested in Liam and Zayn's possible relationship.

"He said hi and we made small talk and then he went back to his family to eat dinner, and when I was leaving he came over again and he _gave me his number_. He gave me his number, Harry! I've got Zayn Malik's number!" Liam squealed excitedly.

"Shhh," Harry tugged on Liam's sleeve while he looked around them, making sure no one could hear Liam. "Have a little dignity."

Liam scoffed. "You're much worse than me whenever something Louis-related happens."

"I am _not_ ," Harry huffed, although he knew it was probably true. He couldn't help it - who wouldn't get all giggly and excited when they interacted with their crush, especially a crush as adorable and sweet and perfect as Louis?

"You totally are," Liam smirked. "I don't know why I forgot to tell you about it last night, probably because I was busy freaking out and texting Zayn."

"You got his number _and_ texted him on the same night? My, my, Mr. Payne, I didn't know you could do something so shocking." Harry wriggled his eyebrows suggestively, making Liam slap his arm gently.

Liam blushed, but said, "Well, just goes to show that I'm braver than you. I can have a full blown conversation with him and you can't even send _one_ text to Louis without panicking and texting me."

"Heyyy!" Offended, Harry shoved Liam playfully. "I'll have you know it's not a bad thing."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

They entered the school building, which was still relatively empty, since most students only arrived ten minutes before class started so that they could sleep as late as possible. Harry and Liam, however, had come to school early on the first day and had never stopped being early - it was now rooted in their routine and they didn't mind having half an hour of extra time before school started. It seemed that Louis also had the habit of arriving early, since Harry would often see him at his locker around the time Harry and Liam got to school.

In History, they were still taking a break from their project, which was rather disappointing because Harry was looking forward to spending some more time with Louis.

"Remember, guys, this will all be on the test," Mr. Andrews said as he passed out a few worksheets. "And the test is in a few days, so take these few lessons seriously, okay?"

Harry looked at the worksheet and swallowed. As Mr. Andrews had said before, their class was a little behind, so the last part of the unit had been taught in a very rushed manner. Harry understood most of it, but it still made him nervous. He didn't want to fail this test, especially since Louis was in his class and he'd know if Harry failed miserably.

A couple of days later, the decoration team had another meeting. This time, Louis was back in an over sized sweater, making him looked so sleepy and soft, and it took every fiber of Harry's body to stop himself from cuddling Louis.

"Alright guys, last time we pretty much finished our basic idea for the room. Now, let's hash out all of the details and all of the materials and time we'll need," Mrs. Dewberry instructed, taking out the piece of paper the group had worked on last time. "Let's separate into a few teams, each team for a different section of the room. Work everything out and report to me by the end of our session, alright?"

Mrs. Dewberry started calling out names, separating the group into smaller teams. Holding his breath, Harry waited anxiously for his name to be called. He really, really hoped he was in a team with Louis. Before, he'd never been able to decide whether he wanted to be in a group with Louis or not, because being with him meant opportunities to talk but it also meant a nerve-wracking, panic-inducing experience.

Now, however, Harry was sure he wanted to be in a group with Louis. First of all, he didn't really know anyone else in the group but he knew Louis, and second of all he'd become more relaxed around Louis and he was dying to know Louis better.

"Louis, Amelia, George, you guys can work on the back wall together," Mrs. Dewberry said. "Harry and Julie, you guys can work on the hanging decorations."

Harry groaned internally. Great. Now that he actually _wanted_ to be in a group with Louis, the universe had suddenly decided to play with him and _not_ put in a group with Louis. Sighing, he stood up and trudged over to where Julie was sitting. He knew Julie a little bit, but not enough to be excited about working with her.

"Hey, Julie." Harry sat down next to her and flashed her a smile. 

"Hi, Harry." Julie waved hello before she slipped on her glasses and picked up her notebook and pen. "So, we'll be making most of the hanging decorations with cardboard..."

A week after their first meeting, the club had finalized their design for Mr. Turner's room and they were using their lunch break to start decorating the classroom. Even though Harry had been working on the hanging decorations with Julie, Mrs. Dewberry had assigned Louis and Harry the job of painting the back wall, probably because they were the least artsy and painting a wall a solid color was the easier, simpler job. Besides, Harry was tall and he was the most suitable for painting the top of the wall.

Painting a wall was a monotonous job, and he and Louis wouldn't talk much during the process, but Harry still felt so excited about it. He and Louis were doing something _together_ and that was basically all it took for Harry to have a mini panic attack right before the lunch break.

While the rest of the team were drawing and cutting designs out on paper, Louis and Harry put on old shirts, lay some newspapers out on the floor, and got ready to paint. Mrs. Dewberry had found some sea green paint lying around in the art room, and the color went quite well with the rest of their design, so they'd decided to use the paint.

"Just paint the entire wall, don't use too much paint or it will take forever to dry, Mr. Turner still needs to hold his classes in here!" Mrs. Dewberry reminded them. "We probably don't have the time to finish it during lunch, so you two might have to stay after school. Got it?"

"Yep." The two nodded simultaneously. 

"Good." Mrs. Dewberry patted them each on the shoulder. "Happy painting!"

They each picked up a paintbrush and started slowly painting the perimeter of the back wall, careful to not get paint on the other walls. Louis hummed while he worked, tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth as he painted. Harry tried to concentrate, but he couldn't help occasionally looking over at Louis and cooing silently at how sweet and adorable Louis looked.

Mrs. Dewberry was right - they couldn't finish the painting during their lunch break, and Harry and Louis had to come back after school to finish. The rest of the team had gone home and Mrs. Dewberry had some papers to mark, so she told the boys, "I trust you two to do a good job. I'll be in the staff room if you boys need me, so just finish up the painting."

They'd finished painting the perimeter of the wall during lunch, so now they grabbed a wide roller each and began rolling paint onto the wall, making sure that they didn't leave any part of the wall uncolored. 

"So, Louis..." Harry cleared his throat, desperate to make conversation. They hadn't talked at all during lunch, and he felt the need to try to know Louis better. "What's up."

Louis stopped painting and blinked at him, which made Harry instantly regret opening his mouth. 

"Um... nothing much, I guess," Louis said, staring at Harry for a few seconds before resuming the painting. "Lottie wants to get a cat and my mum refuses and Lottie made a big fuss, but that's about it."

"So you're a cat person?"

Louis shook his head. "No, I'm more of a dog person but Lottie wants a cat."

"Why can't she have one?"

"Mum says our house is hectic enough without a cat," Louis explained. "If Lottie wants a cat, she can have one when she's older."

"Oh, well, poor Lottie. She can come over to mine if she wants, I don't exactly have a cat but there's a cat that often visits our house," Harry blurted out. 

"Ooh, really? What's the cat called?" 

"Dusty."

Louis cooed, a sound that was so adorable it nearly made Harry's heart burst. "Aw, that's a cute name."

"Yeah." Harry smiled a little at the thought of Dusty, the sleek, black cat that his family had fed for several years now. "Dusty's a sweetheart."

"We used to have a dog too," Louis said. "Ted Tomlinson."

"You named your dog Ted?"

Louis blushed. "Mhmm."

"Don't you find it weird that your pet has a, um... _human_ name?"

"Nope."

"Okay."

A few minutes later, Louis had finished a section of the wall and was moving towards another section when he tripped over the newspapers on the floor and his paint roller accidentally touched Harry, leaving a sea green mark on Harry's shirt.

"Oops! Sorry!" Louis squeaked, covering his mouth with his hand.

"Heyyy!" Instinctively, Harry reached out and dabbed some paint onto Louis with his roller.

Louis shrieked. "Harry!"

"What? Now we're even," Harry shrugged.

"That was _so_ uncalled for." Louis grabbed his paint roller, and this time rolled a bunch of paint all across Harry's arm. 

" _That_ was uncalled for!" Harry rolled paint onto Louis' shirt in retaliation, making Louis squeak and fling paint at Harry. "Now you've done it!" 

Harry and Louis started screeching at each other, throwing paint at each other and running around the classroom. By the end of their shenanigans, they were both covered in sea green paint and panting and giggling.

Once Louis had calmed down, his face was bright red. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I got paint all over you -"

"Oh, come on, Lou, it's fine." The nickname slipped out of Harry's mouth easily. "Besides, if you're apologizing, I have to apologize too, I got a ton of paint on you too."

"This shirt is old, it doesn't matter."

"Same goes for me."

"Still... s-sorry."

Harry bumped Louis gently with his shoulder. "Don't worry about it."

Blue met green and they smiled at each other shyly, falling into silence again. After a few seconds, Harry cleared his throat. "Um... there's a little bit left of the wall to paint."

"Oh, um, yeah." Louis snapped out of his daze and dipped his wide roller into the paint. "Let's finish up."

When they finished painting the wall, they cleaned up and returned their materials to the art room. There were still a few other students in the building and the two received weird looks from them, probably because they were both covered in paint. But Harry didn't care - he'd been in a paint fight with Louis Tomlinson and now he was walking next to Louis Tomlinson. 

Harry could wipe the paint off his clothes, but he couldn't wipe the grin off his face as he glanced over at Louis. Even in an old shirt and covered in paint, Louis still looked so beautiful, and Harry felt like the luckiest person in the world to be walking beside this angel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanted the paint scene to be cute but it just turned out... not cute, sorry about that.
> 
> please give me some honest feedback on what you liked, what you didn't like, and what else you'd like to see! it's very helpful for me :)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this chapter is shorter than usual, i didn't want to drag it out too much but i needed this chapter to sort of set the stage for the next one, hope you still enjoy this!

You'd think that Louis and Harry would start getting closer after so many small incidents they'd gone through, with Harry even saying _I want to be you friend_ to Louis' face, Louis and Harry would have gotten closer. 

But, of course, that wasn't the case.

No matter how hard Harry tried to talk to Louis and hang out with him, Louis always remained shy and quiet around him. There had been many times when Louis would come out of his shell and Harry would think that he'd _finally_ gotten through to Louis, but the next time Harry saw Louis, he would be reserved and hesitant around Harry.

It was like Louis had intentionally decided to hold back from Harry, but he'd slipped up a few times and accidentally opened up to him. Was it still about what Nick said? But Harry had talked to Louis about it, and Harry thought he had made it perfectly clear that Louis was a wonderful person that Harry wanted to be friends with. So why was Louis still not letting Harry in?

Harry liked Louis. He really, really did. Louis was beautiful and adorable and sweet and smart and he was everything that Harry wanted, but if Louis remained so elusive to Harry, Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to continue, ahem - _pursuing_ Louis. Louis was wonderful, but what was the point of trying to chase him if he wasn't even going to open up to Harry? Harry didn't think he had a chance with Louis in the first place, but now he was seriously doubting whether he could even be _friends_ with Louis.

He didn't want to give up on Louis, but Louis seemed to refuse to let Harry in, always holding him at an arm's length, even though they shared classes, worked together in class, and Harry was starting to become friends with Louis' best friends. It was logical that Louis and Harry should become friends, but Louis seemed set on pushing Harry away. They'd have these lovely conversations one day, then the next day Louis would completely ignore Harry and be incredibly quiet and shy whenever Harry said something to him.

It confused Harry.

And it wasn't like Louis wasn't capable of making new friends. Harry knew Louis was shy and introverted, and initially he had thought Louis' introvert nature had prevented Louis from opening up to him, but that wasn't the case. Harry was sure that Louis and Chris hadn't been friends before, but he saw the two together all the time.

_Chris Daxter._

Harry didn't want to be jealous. He didn't want to be that kind of toxic, unhealthy person that got angry when their crush spent time with someone else, and he was trying very hard not to be that person. Louis could be friends and hang out with anyone he wanted, and Harry wholeheartedly agreed with that, but - well.

It was difficult to not get jealous whenever Harry saw Louis and Chris together. They looked so chummy and Louis was often smiling whenever he was around Chris. Harry didn't get it. What set him apart from Chris? Why did Louis open up to Chris so easily, but kept Harry shut out? Harry couldn't help feeling envious and bitter, even though he tried to stop himself.

It wasn't easy being of the jealous kind.

So it was a confusing time for Harry. Why was Louis friends with Chris and not him? Why wouldn't Louis open up? If Louis wasn't going to open up, was there really any point of pursuing him?

Harry didn't know what to do, so he decided to wait. Maybe something would happen. But if nothing happened, then, well... Harry may have to give up on Louis.

*****

Harry had a free period, and he usually spent them in the library studying and revising while his friends would prowl the school and enter random classrooms, but today he was feeling restless. He didn't want to spend an hour sitting in the library, so he decided to join his friends for once and walk around campus.

The group consisted of Harry, Demi, Jack, Danielle, Liam, and, unfortunately, Nick. Ever since Harry had found out what Nick had said to Louis, his and Nick's friendship had changed drastically. Harry had never liked Nick much, but now he could be cold to Nick without Nick being whiny and begging for an explanation.

Nick was still in Harry's friend group... sort of. All of Harry's friends didn't like Nick much either, but no one wanted to tell him to leave, and they'd all gotten used to his presence. Besides, Nick had become much more subdued and meek ever since Harry got mad at him, so he was somewhat tolerable. Harry still ignored him, but since they were in the same circle of friends, hanging out with Nick was inevitable.

"Did you know that Mrs. Dewberry's class is watching _The Great Gatsby_ movie in class today?" Danielle said as the group trooped down the corridor. "They finished the unit early so now they're watching _all_ of _The Great Gatsby_ movies and TV shows."

"Lucky." Harry wished they could watch movies in class, but his English teacher had told them to watch it at home if they wanted to. "How come they've finished the unit so early? We still have five chapters to go."

Danielle shrugged. "I'm not sure. I think the other classes - _our_ classes - did some extra worksheets that Mrs. Dewberry's class didn't."

"Shall we go and watch the movie with them, then?" Jack suggested. "Mrs. Dewberry will definitely let us sit in the back with them."

"Alright, it's not like we have anything else to do," Demi agreed. "Where's her classroom?"

They made their way across campus to Mrs. Dewberry's room and peeked in through the window. The movie was playing on the screen and some students were watching intently while others were chatting quietly or looking at their phones.

Demi knocked on the door, making the entire class look at them. She opened the door and poked her head in. "Hey, Mrs. Dewberry! Can we come in and watch the movie with you guys?"

"Sure, come in!" Mrs. Dewberry gestured for them to enter the classroom. "There's empty tables at the back."

The group filed in and settled at the back of the classroom. As Harry walked to the back, his eyes drifted over the rest of the classroom, trying to see who was there. Surprise, surprise, Harry spotted Louis sitting close to the front of the classroom, which automatically made his heart beat faster. Louis was looking at him, and when their eyes met Louis immediately blushed and looked away, making Harry smile at his adorableness. However, he frowned when he saw who was sitting next to Louis - Chris.

Swallowing, he sat down at one of the tables. While the rest of the class and his friends were watching the movie, he completely ignored what was showing on the screen and he instead watched Louis and Chris. They were sitting a little _too_ close - as far as Harry could tell, Louis was sitting in the center of his desk but Chris had shifted his chair over to the left of his desk so that he was closer to Louis. As they watched the movie, Chris would occasionally lean in and whisper a remark in Louis' ear, and Louis would smile, or even giggle in response. Harry had never thought of Chris as funny, so why was Louis laughing?

It was becoming really, really hard to not be jealous. Harry's eyebrows knit together and he was practically glaring at Louis and Chris' backs, trying to telepathically force them apart. Liam noticed this and nudged Harry. "Jealous much?"

Luckily for them, the movie was currently playing the party scene, which was loud and rowdy and the sound made sure no one else could hear Harry and Liam talking.

"Am not," Harry mumbled, which was a complete and utter lie. "Just... uh, observing."

Liam scoffed. "Yeah, right. Don't pretend like you're not giving Chris the death stare."

Harry turned to give Liam the death stare instead. "I am _not_ jealous."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

The movie was getting quieter so they stopped talking, and Harry resumed watching Louis and Chris. It was a little creepy of him, but they were right there in front of him, giggling and talking, and Harry couldn't ignore it.

Harry remembered how Chris had said he was crushing on Louis, and gritted his teeth. Harry wasn't stupid - he knew Louis was an attractive person and there were probably a lot of people that crushed on him. Harry wasn't the only one competing for Louis' affections.

But seeing Chris actually pursue Louis, and be pretty successful with it, honestly frightened Harry a bit. It was already hard seeing Louis so close with another person, and Harry couldn't imagine the pain he'd feel if he saw Louis holding hands with Chris, or even _kissing_ him.

Harry shivered, trying to shake the image from his head. He wanted to be at least good friends with Louis, but even that seemed impossible. He really needed to step up his game - but how?

Later, as Liam and Harry were walking to the cafeteria for lunch, Liam said out of the blue, "Let's eat lunch with Zayn and the others."

Harry almost choked on his saliva. "What?"

"It's not such a crazy idea," Liam shrugged. "We can just go over to their table and sit down and eat with them."

"It seems like an awfully sudden step."

"It really isn't, H. We're kind of friends with them, aren't we? And our friends are always going off and sitting with other friends during lunch. It's not like we're making a permanent move, we're just eating one lunch with them."

Liam's words made a lot of sense to Harry. Eating lunch with them seemed like a step in the right direction to get closer to Louis, and after seeing Louis with Chris, Harry was desperate to get closer to Louis. But, still, it was always terrifying to do something like that, no matter how normal Liam made it seem. "You sure this is a good idea?"

Liam rolled his eyes. "Yes. It's just lunch, Harry. We don't have anything to lose."

So after they got their lunches, instead of sitting at their usual table, they made their way to the table where Niall, Zayn and Louis ate lunch together. Harry tried to calm himself as they walked, focusing on his lunch tray. He really didn't want to trip and fall over and make a big mess in front of Louis.

They made it to the table successfully, without Harry tripping over, and Liam smiled awkwardly at the trio. "Hey, guys. Can we eat lunch with you today?"

Niall, Zayn and Louis all looked up at them. Both Louis and Zayn's cheeks turned a light pink, while Niall grinned and said, "Sure! Sit down, lads."

Niall, Zayn and Louis shifted a little bit to make space for Harry and Liam, and Harry just so happened to be sitting next to Louis. _Oh my God. Don't freak out. Don't freak out._ Harry picked up his fork and tried to stop his hand from shaking. _Please don't eat messily in front of Louis_.

He took his fork and stabbed a piece of lettuce, trying to focus on the greenness of the vegetable instead of focusing on the fact that Louis looked _too_ adorable today. He was definitely not thinking about how soft Louis' hair looked and how beautiful those bright blue eyes were. He definitely wasn't.

Louis didn't seem to want to make conversation, and Harry didn't want to talk to Louis lest he choked on his salad while he talked, so instead Harry opted to listen to what the rest of the boys were talking about.

Niall was talking about last night's episode of _The X Factor_ , which Harry had unfortunately forgotten to watch, because he'd been busy baking little treats for Dusty the night before. He nodded along mindlessly to Niall's words, occasionally interjecting with "yeah" and "mhmm". Liam and Zayn were in their own little world, having an animated conversation about who knows what. Harry was really happy for his friend, but he wished that Liam and Zayn would join in with Niall and Harry's conversation, because it was getting awkward. Beside him, Louis was completely silent as he ate, and Harry was feeling a little uncomfortable sandwiched between a person who didn't talk and one person who talked a little too much.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see Louis munching on his sandwich, staring blankly at the table. He opened his mouth to say something, but got too nervous and shut his mouth again. It was so strange - why was Louis still pushing him away?

"You know, that Simon Cowell on the judges' panel is a bit of a twat. He created the show and all, but he is rather mean, isn't he?" Niall said as he shoveled a few fries into his mouth. "Why doesn't he act a little nicer? Does he enjoy being booed by the audience?"

"Um, it's a TV personality to contrast against the other judges, maybe?" Harry said absent-mindedly. 

"Hmm." Niall chewed and swallowed his fries. "Maybe. Still, I don't like him very much."

Harry hummed in agreement, suddenly forgetting what Niall was talking about when he saw Chris walking towards the table. _What is he doing here?_

"Hey, guys!" Chris said cheerfully, waving at them. The group mumbled greetings back, and Chris stood behind Louis' chair. "Hey, Lou. You ready?"

"Oh, um, yeah." Louis stuffed the last of his food into his mouth and stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Bye, guys. See you later."

As Louis and Chris walked away, Harry asked, "Where are they going?"

Niall shrugged. "Studying together, or something. Apparently Chris wants Louis' help to prepare himself for the History test."

Harry bit his lip. "Oh. Okay." Seriously? Louis was willing to sacrifice his own personal time to help Chris, but wasn't willing to start a conversation with Harry? Harry turned to watch as Louis and Chris disappeared from the cafeteria.

He was starting to really, really _not_ like Chris.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, honest feedback is appreciated!


	14. Chapter 14

It was getting increasingly difficult for Harry to get closer to Louis.

After seeing how close Louis and Chris were, Harry had decided he seriously needed to step up his game. Screw his nerves. He needed to get closer to Louis and establish himself as Chris' competitor before it was too late, and he could deal with his nerves later. There wasn't any time to be nervous or scared - he needed to act _now_.

Of course, straight after Harry made this resolution, his plan immediately fell into pieces.

Chris was _everywhere_. Walking Louis to classes, talking to Louis at the lockers, chatting with Louis in class - and, even worse, Louis was always smiling with Chris, and Harry wasn't brave enough to go talk to Louis while Chris was around.

The only times when Harry was with Louis but Chris wasn't around was when Niall, Liam, and Zayn were also around. The addition of three other people also terrified Harry - he felt like they were all watching him and he'd eventually mess up when he talked to Louis.

Liam insisted that Harry had to get over his fears and go talk to Louis, no matter who was with Louis. So Harry had gone and done just that, except he was met with cold, hard rejection in the form of Louis practically ignoring Harry and continuing to talk to whoever he'd been talking to before.

So. Basically, life sucked for Harry.

Meanwhile, Liam and Zayn seemed to be making great progress. They'd been texting and talking much more and Harry was so proud of his best friend, but it left a sour taste in his mouth when he realized that Liam was making so much progress with Zayn, while Harry and Louis had gone straight back to square one.

Harry was starting to get more and more discouraged. Maybe... maybe he was better off pursuing someone else. Maybe Louis was better off with Chris.

*****

With all of the worrying about Louis, Harry had almost forgotten that there was a History test he needed to prepare for, so the day before the test, he and Liam stayed in the library after school to study together. Both Gemma and Liam's sister, Ruth, had invited friends over to their own houses and the library would be the quietest, most suitable place for studying.

They sat down at one of the tables and pulled out their textbooks, notebooks, and the worksheets that Mr. Andrews had given them in class.

"Mr. Andrews has terrible timing. I don't want to have a test at times like this," Harry said as he sat down.

"As if teachers set tests according to their students' moods." Liam snorted. "Anyway, after this test we'll go back to working on our group project and you'll get to spend some more time with Louis, so cheer up."

"I'm not sure if I _want_ to see him."

"Why? Is it because of Chris and the fact that you can't get closer to Louis?"

"I mean, yeah? It's complicated. I don't know exactly how I feel."

"Hmm." Liam was silent for a few seconds. "Alright then, just try to forget about Louis and study, we can tackle the Louis problem later."

"What's he testing us on?" Harry cracked his neck in preparation of the study session ahead.

"All the stuff on here." Liam pointed to a long list he'd written down in his notebook. 

"Damn it, that's a lot." Harry picked up Liam's notebook and squinted at the list. "I was hoping for an easy test."

"Well, we're not getting one." Liam flipped a textbook open. "Come on, let's get started."

Ten minutes into their study session, Harry suddenly lost interest in his History notes when he heard the familiar adorable, raspy voice of a certain blue-eyed boy. His eyebrows shot up and he spun around in his chair, trying to look for Louis.

"Harry, what -?" Harry quickly put his finger on Liam's lips and shushed him.

"Shhh, I heard Louis' voice."

Liam sighed. "I thought we agreed to tackle the Louis problem after the test. We're here to study, Harry, not to freak out about crushes."

"Oh, shut up. Don't tell me you'd be able to keep your cool if Zayn was here. Besides, what is Louis doing here?"

"Probably doing the same thing as us - studying for tomorrow's test," Liam said frankly.

At that moment, Harry spotted Louis as he emerged from behind a bookshelf, walking towards Harry and Liam's direction, where the tables were. Next to him was Chris.

Harry immediately felt his heart sank when he saw Chris, and turned around to face his study materials again.

"What's wrong?" Liam asked when he saw Harry's grumpy expression.

"Look who Louis is with."

Liam turned around to have a look, and realization washed over him. "Ohh. I see."

"Why is it always Chris? Just - ugh." Harry threw his hands up. "I give up."

"Don't lose heart, Harold. Chris said Louis had been helping him study, right? That's probably what they're doing, he's just being a good friend and helping Chris."

"Doesn't change the fact that he's close with Chris and refuses to get closer to me." Harry turned his head slightly again, and his eyes widened when he saw that Louis was staring at him. Louis quickly looked away and he and Chris walked past Harry and Liam and sat down at a table not very far away.

"Come on, H, we're here to study." Liam elbowed Harry gently to snap him back into reality. "Just ignore them, alright?"

Harry tried to focus on his study materials again, but he couldn't help occasionally lifting his head to look at where Chris and Louis were sat. As Liam had said, they were studying too, but they kept chatting and giggling and it was only further fueling Harry's jealousy. 

A while later, Louis stood up and began walking towards Liam and Harry's direction. Harry noticed this and almost had a heart attack - _what is Louis doing? Is he walking towards me? Does he want to talk to me?_

However, Louis had actually been walking to a bookshelf right next to Harry and Liam's table. Harry exhaled quietly, but he still felt like he was on fire because Louis was so close. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw that Louis was trying to get a book from the top shelf, but - surprise, surprise - Louis was a little too short and no amount of jumping or getting on his tip-toes ended with success.

Harry looked over at Chris, who was looking down at a textbook and hadn't noticed Louis' predicament. Liam hadn't noticed either - the only person who had noticed was Harry, and Anne had always taught Harry to help people whenever he could. So Harry stood up, made his way to Louis, easily took the book off the shelf, and handed it to Louis.

"Here you go."

Louis' cheeks immediately turned a vibrant scarlet. "T-thank you."

Harry looked down at Louis and inhaled sharply - he hadn't realized he was standing so close to a perfect angel. "Uh, don't sweat it."

They stood there in an awkward silence, staring at each other, for a few seconds before Louis cleared his throat.

"Thank you, Harry, I'll, um, see you around then."

He practically ran back to his seat and Harry shuffled back to his, where Liam met him with a knowing look, but no words. Half hour later, Chris stood up. Noticing the movement, Harry looked up again, and could remotely hear Chris saying something like, "I've got to go home early, sorry." Chris and Louis said their goodbyes, and now Louis was all alone in the library, studying by himself.

After another while, it was getting late and Harry and Liam would soon be going home for dinner. It had started raining outside and the rain was progressively getting heavier, but Harry had brought his umbrella so he assumed he'd be fine. Nearing the end of their study session, he got a little restless and he would look up and around more often as he anticipated going home to a warm dinner.

He noticed Louis packing up his study materials, rummaging around in his bag, and staring unhappily out of the window at the heavy rain. Harry flicked through his textbook absent-mindedly as he observed Louis, slowly realizing that Louis was looking for an umbrella that he didn't have. Finally, Louis gave up and left the library, probably deciding to go home without an umbrella.

Harry instantly felt worried. The rain was heavy and Louis would be positively soaked by the time he got home. He couldn't let that happen to Louis, no matter how much Harry was feeling upset and frustrated about him and Louis, and besides - his umbrella was big enough for the two of them.

He tapped Liam on the shoulder and said, "Hey, I'm going to head home first, if you don't mind."

"Hm? Oh, sure, I'm just going to stay a while longer to study a bit more," Liam yawned. "See you, H."

Harry left the library hurriedly, heading towards the building's exit, looking for Louis. He found the smaller boy standing at the door, staring dejectedly at the rain, like he was contemplating what he should do.

Harry took a deep breath. No matter how nervous walking Louis home made him, he knew it was the right thing to do. He couldn't just leave Louis to walk home by himself in the rain without an umbrella. "Hey, uh, Louis?"

Louis jumped and turned. 

"You okay?"

Louis' cheeks turned a slight pink. "Yeah, fine. Just, uh, I don't have an umbrella and the rain is pretty heavy."

"I could share my umbrella with you," Harry offered. "It's big enough and we don't live too far from each other. I'll walk you home."

"Oh! That's very kind of you, Harry, but I don't want to be a bother. I'll be fine."

"You're not bothering me," Harry insisted. "If you go home without an umbrella, you and all of your things will get soaked. Please, just let me walk you home."

Louis couldn't argue with that, so he nodded his head and the two set off for home. To avoid getting wet, they had to huddle together under the umbrella, and their shoulders were always touching. Harry had to keep himself from grinning uncontrollably and tried to keep his face straight.

They walked in silence, but even if they wanted to chat they couldn't, because the rain was too loud. Occasionally, the rain would get heavier and Louis would huddle closer to try to avoid the rain, practically smushing his cheek into Harry's side. Harry tried to refrain from squealing in excitement and secretly gave Louis a bigger portion of the umbrella, so that Louis would be more dry while Harry got soaked.

Once, a car was passing by them when it got too close and skidded on a puddle of water, making the rainwater fly up. Harry quickly turned to shield Louis with his body, which was relatively easily because Louis was tiny and fit behind Harry's body perfectly. The rainwater splashed all over Harry, drenching him while Louis only got a little bit of water on him.

"Harry!" Louis gasped. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just... wet." Harry ran a hand over his face and shook his curls to get a bit of water out of them.

"Here, take this." Louis took a packet of tissue out of his pocket, but the rain was so heavy that it had drenched Louis' jeans and his tissues too. "Or... don't. Wait, I think I have a dry pack in my bag -"

"Let's just keep going, I'll get myself dry when I get home." The rain was getting heavier and heavier and even though they had an umbrella, both Louis and Harry were already drenched and Harry was eager to get home. 

So they set off again, trying to walk faster as the wind started blowing and the heavy raindrops pattering on the umbrella sounded almost like rocks falling down. They finally made it to Louis' house, and by then the wind was howling and the umbrella had flipped inside out. 

Jay opened the door and quickly ushered them inside. "Come in, come in! Lou, I was getting so worried, there's a big storm coming and you hadn't come home yet."

"I f-forgot to bring my umbrella and Harry offered to walk me home," Louis said, teeth chattering as his soaked skin met with the cold wind of the air conditioner.

"That's really lovely of you, Harry, thank you so much for taking care of my Louis." Jay shook her head at the two. "My, my, you two are absolutely soaked. Let me get some towels so you can dry off."

"Just get towels for Louis, I'll dry off when I get home," Harry said, preparing himself to go into the storm again.

"I'm not sure if you _can_ go home, dear." Jay looked out the window worriedly. "The storm seems very serious and I don't think it's safe for you to go home. How about you stay here for a while and dry off?"

The storm _did_ seem very serious, so Harry agreed and stood awkwardly in the foyer while Jay went to fetch a few towels. Louis was looking through his bag, pouting sadly when he saw that all of his books had gotten damp. 

"How are your books?" Harry didn't care too much about the state of his things, but he knew Louis probably really treasured his materials.

"They're all damp, but they're not too bad." Louis fished out a damp textbook and made a face. "I can probably revive them. Probably."

"That's good."

Jay returned with an arm full of towels and the two dried off. Harry probably looked like a drenched rat while Louis somehow still looked adorable, with his wet hair sticking up in different directions as he toweled off. 

"Harry, dear, I don't think it's going to get better anytime soon. I don't feel safe letting you go home when the storm is raging outside, perhaps you can stay for dinner?" Jay proposed. "I think I've made enough food for the entire family and you. We can see what the weather's like after dinner."

So Harry texted Anne that he'd be eating dinner at the Tomlinsons', and sat down at the dining table. It was dinner time, and all of Louis' sisters came pouring out of their rooms. 

"Harry!" Phoebe squeaked happily, running towards the curly boy and crawling into his lap. "What you doing here?"

"Harry's here for dinner, dear," Jay said as she passed by, walking into the kitchen. "So when you set the table, grab one more set for Harry."

"Okey dokey." Phoebe hopped off Harry's lap and followed the stream of siblings into the kitchen, where they were presumably helping with dinner.

"Is there anything I can do to help, Mrs. Tomlinson?" Harry asked, desperate to do something for the family that had so kindly let him stay while it wasn't safe to be outside.

"Just sit still, I've got plenty of helping hands," Jay said, gesturing to Louis and his sisters. "And please, call me Jay."

Sure enough, the Tomlinson siblings moved like a well-oiled machine, and after a quick flurry of movement, the table was set neatly and all of the food placed on the table. Louis had gone upstairs to his room for a few minutes, and when he came back down, the only available seat was the one next to Harry. He silently sat down as everyone started eating and chatting.

Harry made small talk with Jay while Louis entertained his little sisters. Harry could hear parts of their conversations and he thought it was adorable how the siblings seemed to be fighting each other for Louis' attention.

"Lou, today I -"

"Hey! It's _my_ turn to talk to LouLou -"

"No it's my turn!"

"No, it's _my_ turn -"

"Girls, shh, we have a guest present," Jay shushed them, smiling apologetically at Harry.

"They all seem very attached to him," Harry commented. 

Jay laughed. "Yes, well, everyone loves Louis."

_You have no idea how true that is_ , Harry thought, glancing over at the blue-eyed boy who was trying to mediate a fight between the twins.

When dinner was over, Jay turned on the television to check the weather report. 

"The storm's only gotten worse," Jay said, peeking out of the window. 

Her words were echoed by the weather reporter, who went on with some technical words about the storm and finally said, "We recommend citizens find shelter and stay where they are for the night. It's too dangerous to go out."

Jay turned to Harry. "I'm sorry, Harry, but it looks like you'll have to stay the night."

"Oh, uh... I hope I'm not intruding." 

"Stop worrying so much about intruding or bothering us! We're happy to let you stay the night until it's safe for you to go home." Jay waved her hand dismissively. 

"Harry can take my bed," Louis piped up shyly. "I'll sleep on the couch."

"No, it's okay, I'll sleep on the couch," Harry said, almost having a heart attack at the idea of sleeping in Louis' bed. 

"You're the guest, you shouldn't be sleeping on the couch. Take my bed, I don't mind," Louis said as Phoebe clambered onto his lap. "I'll take the couch."

"No he can't, Lou slept on the couch once and got scared of the dark and started crying," Fizzy said, making Louis' cheeks heat up. "Don't you remember, Momma?"

"Fine, I can sleep in one of the girls' rooms," Louis said.

"There's no space, I'm afraid." Jay shook her head. "Each room's already got two people in them, and there's no space for a third."

"Why can't LouLou and Harry just share a bed?" Daisy suggested.

"Daisy!" Louis hissed, slapping his sister's arm gently as his cheeks flamed bright red. "Shut it."

"What?" Daisy complained.

Jay's eyes twinkled with amusement. "How about this - Harry can sleep on Louis' bed and Louis can have a sleeping bag and sleep on the floor? There's enough space for that in your room, Lou."

"Yeah, uh, okay," Louis mumbled.

Jay clapped her hands. "It's settled, then. Harry, Louis, you're sharing a room together tonight."

Harry felt ready to pass out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter sucks. i'm sorry.
> 
> as always, please give some honest feedback to help me improve!


	15. Chapter 15

It was bad enough that Harry walked Louis home and ate dinner with Louis and his family. Now he had to share a room with Louis for the night, and Harry was dying.

He didn't even know why he was viewing it as a bad thing. He should've been excited - this was a huge step and a big opportunity. Anyone else would have been ecstatic at the chance of sharing a room with their crush for the night, but all Harry felt was outright terror when Jay announced the idea after dinner. Feeling rather faint, he looked over at Louis, whose face was bright red and his expression bewildered. 

Harry tried to remain calm on the outside, but internally he was freaking out. Share a room with Louis? At least they didn't have to share a bed - it wasn't like their life was some sort of fanfiction or anything - but still, Harry was panicking. He was so, so sure he would mess up in some way, and Louis would hate Harry more than he already did. What if Harry snored? What if Harry drooled? What if Harry had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and accidentally wake Louis up, and Louis would get annoyed?

Luckily enough for him, there was some silver lining to this. Harry could get to see what Louis looked like when he slept. Call him creepy, but Harry was sure that Louis would look adorable and angelic while he slept, and Harry wouldn't stare... much. Harry might even get to see a sleep-rumpled, slightly messy, and absolutely huggable Louis, which Harry was dying to see. He'd seen sleepy Louis at school before, but he wanted to see the real deal, with Louis' hair sticking up everywhere and his clothes all creased from rolling around in his sleep.

Other than that, though, Harry was doomed. He was bound to slip up in some way and make himself look like an idiot in front of this perfect angel. Besides, Louis was always shy and quiet, so Harry was in for a rather awkward night unless Louis somehow opened up to him again.

"Harry, I hear you guys have a History test tomorrow?" Jay looked at Harry expectantly.

"Oh, um, yep. It's tomorrow."

"And I suppose you need to study?"

"I did some studying in the library but I still need to study, yeah."

"You and Louis can go to his room to study, it will be quieter there. Me and the girls will take care of all the washing up and cleaning," Jay said as she ushered the girls into the kitchen. "Good luck with your studying, boys."

"Thank you, Jay." Harry followed Louis up the stairs to Louis' room, carrying their slightly damp schoolbags. 

"Um, you can take my desk," Louis said, gesturing to the small table. "I'll study on my bed."

"Thanks." Harry set his bag on the floor next to the desk and sat down. He'd been here before, but he still looked around curiously. There was something so... _Louis_ about this room and he loved it. The room was pretty tiny (just like Louis) and had a warm, cozy, home-y feel. Harry noticed something that hadn't been there before - fairy lights hanging on the walls, making the room look soft and magical. 

"Nice fairy lights," he commented.

Louis looked up and blushed. "Oh. Thanks. They're usually up all the time but the last time you came the lights were malfunctioning so I took them down."

Before Harry started studying, he pulled his phone out to text his mother about the situation. As he was texting, Louis coughed slightly and said, "Um, my jeans are kinda dirty from all the rain, and I don't wanna dirty my bed so I need to change, so, um, if you could close your eyes or not look, that would be great."

"Yeah, of course." Harry looked away, eyes focused on his phone, face bright red when he heard the sounds of Louis changing his pants behind him. As he was waiting for a reply from Anne, he texted Liam.

_harry the frog: hey, did u make it home alright?_

_lima bean: kinda. made it home but im a drowned rat. u?_

_harry the frog: well i kinda walked louis home and his mum insisted i stay at their house cuz the storm was getting worse_

_lima bean: WHAT_

_lima bean: ur stayin the night at louis'???_

_harry the frog: yep, and WE'RE SHARING A ROOM_

_lima bean: u lucky bastard. im expecting news of ur engagement tmr._

_harry the frog: WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO IM FREAKING OUT_

_lima bean: idk. be urself i guess._

_harry the frog: wow._

_lima bean: just relax, h. try not to see louis naked._

_harry the frog: heyyy! ur not helping_

_lima bean: oh cmon h, you've dated people before. you've slept over at someone else's house before. im sure you'll be able to be sensible._

_lima bean: anyway i have to study now, text me later._

Harry groaned silently in frustration, wishing his best friend would be a little more helpful in times of need. 

Behind him, Louis said shyly, "Um, I'm done now, so... yeah."

"Oh, okay." Harry was dying from the awkwardness, but decided he should probably start studying. He unzipped his bag, rummaging through it to try to find his study materials, and groaned when he saw the state of his books. He gingerly pulled out a soggy notebook, which he could probably salvage and dry, but for tonight his book wasn't able to be used.

Louis saw his predicament, and said, "I've got some backup notes on my laptop, we can share if you want. My physical notes are soaked too."

"That'd be good, thanks." Harry slid his notebook back into his bag. "Um, do you wanna sit at your desk too? Might be easier to share your laptop."

"Yeah, I'll go get a chair." Louis set his laptop down on the table, accidentally brushing against Harry when he leaned over. Harry tried to keep his composure, but when Louis left the room to get a chair, he covered his face with his hands to try to keep himself from squealing. 

Louis returned with a turquoise, rather small chair that had probably come from one of his sister's rooms. Harry shifted his chair to make space for Louis at the desk, but because the desk was so small and only meant for one (rather small) person, their chairs were touching and their sides were practically glued to each other. Harry had already been so close to Louis when they'd been walking home, and now that they were touching again, Harry was freaking out.

As Louis turned on his laptop and found his notes, Harry tried to make some conversation. "Why do you have both physical and virtual notes?"

"Oh, um, I usually only have physical ones but Chris wanted a copy of my notes so I typed them up for him," Louis answered.

Harry felt jealousy flare in his heart again. Why didn't Chris just use his own notes? Why couldn't Louis just send Chris a picture of his notes? Why did Louis go to the trouble of typing his notes up for Chris? The document Louis had open was pretty long, so it had obviously taken him some time to type his notes up.

Taking a deep breath, Harry tried to push his jealousy aside. He had to focus and study for his test - he didn't want to fail. "Oh, cool. Do you have a spare piece of paper or something? I wanna copy some of your notes."

"Yeah, sure." Louis found a loose piece of lined paper on his desk and placed it in front of Harry. "Do you need some stationary too?"

"That would be great."

Besides the wet stationary in his bag, Louis still had some extra stationary on his table that he divided into two sets. He gave one set to Harry and kept one for himself to use as they started another study session together. With his textbooks practically useless for at least tonight, Harry made do with Louis' notes and his laptop, which was a little wet on the outside but perfectly functional otherwise. 

As they studied, Harry concentrated on the material and slowly started to forget where he was and who he was with, despite the fact that his side was glued to the literal man of his dreams. But whenever Louis would shift a little or sniffle, Harry was suddenly jolted back into reality and narrowly avoided having a heart attack every time. No matter how upset or frustrated Harry had been about Louis before, when he was right next to him Harry felt like the luckiest, giddiest schoolboy in the world.

After a few hours of silent studying, there was a knock on the door, making both Louis and Harry jump and turn around to see who was at the door. Jay poked her head in and smiled at the two. "Hey, boys. Harry, I just wanted to ask if you've told your mother that you'll be staying the night?"

"Oh! Um, yeah." Harry had forgotten about it. "I texted her a few hours ago but I haven't checked if she's replied yet." He grabbed his phone and saw a text from Anne. "Yeah, she's okay with it."

"Good. Do you mind giving me her number? I'd like to call her and confirm things for her," Jay said. 

"Sure." Harry rattled off his mother's number, which Jay typed into her own phone. 

"Thank you, Harry. Happy studying, you two! It's getting late though, so watch the time. You guys don't want to fall asleep in your test tomorrow," Jay reminded them. "Oh, and when you're about to sleep, come and find me, I've got some extra, brand new toothbrushes Harry can use. You can borrow some of Louis' clothes to sleep in, all of his clothes are oversized so they might fit you."

"Oh, okay. Thank you!" Harry said as Jay left the room and closed the door again. He looked at the clock on Louis' desk and turned to Louis. "Uh, when do you usually go to bed?"

Louis shrugged. "Depends. Eleven? Eleven thirty? But I guess because tomorrow's a test I usually sleep a little earlier so I won't fall asleep during the test like Mum said... I guess ten forty-five, then."

"Yeah, okay." 

The clock read ten, so they had maybe a half-hour left of time to study before they should start getting ready for bed. They returned to studying, and Harry was already getting a little sleepy from staring at his laptop and paper for so long. Soon enough, it was ten thirty and they started packing their things up. Harry borrowed a few chargers for his laptop and phone, and the two went to find Jay in her room, where she gave Harry a new toothbrush and gave Louis a sleeping bag. 

Louis had probably gotten sleepy too, because his eyes were droopy and he kept rubbing them. Harry thought sleepy Louis was adorable and he looked even tinier when he was sleepy, like a little hedgehog.

When they returned to Louis' room, Louis rummaged around in his closet to find some pajamas for Harry. He pulled out a shirt and a pair of sweatpants and handed them to Harry. "Um, I think these might fit you... they're the biggest clothes I have."

"Cool, thanks." The clothes felt really soft in Harry's hands and he was pretty sure they smelled like Louis. He was going to die when he tried them on.

"You can change here, I'll go to the bathroom to brush my teeth," Louis said. "Don't worry, I'll knock when I come back."

"Yeah, okay." Harry watched as Louis left the room and shut the door behind him. He stripped down to his boxers and put on Louis' clothes - it felt so weird to be half-naked in his crush' room, but Harry tried to ignore the weirdness and instead focused on the clothes. Louis had said they were the biggest clothes he owned, but they were still a tight fit for Harry, making his muscles bulge out a little, although he didn't mind much. And he was right - the clothes smelled like Louis and Harry was in love. He was engulfed by Louis' scent and it felt like a big, warm cuddle.

As Louis promised, when he came back from the bathroom he knocked on the door so he wouldn't walk in on Harry while he was changing. 

"You can come in," Harry called. 

The door opened and revealed Louis, who's face went slightly pink when he saw Harry. His eyes scanned Harry's body and he coughed slightly. "Um, you can go brush your teeth and I'll change. You know where the bathroom is, right?"

"Yeah." Harry grabbed his toothbrush and left the room, entering the bathroom. Phoebe or Daisy - Harry couldn't tell them apart - was also in the bathroom, brushing her teeth. 

"Hi 'arry!" The girl said around her toothbrush.

"Hey there." Harry wet his toothbrush and put a little toothpaste on it. "Are you Phoebe or Daisy."

"Daisy."

"Hi, Daisy." Harry started to brush his teeth and Daisy resumed her own brushing, so they stood there silently for a minute or two, unable to talk properly with a toothbrush in their mouths.

When Daisy was done, instead of leaving the bathroom to go back to her room, she squinted at Harry. "Are you wearing Lou's clothes?"

"Uh, yeah. I don't have any -"

"Do you like LouLou?" Daisy interrupted.

Rather taken aback by this, Harry coughed and quickly rinsed the toothpaste from his mouth. "Uh, yeah. He's really nice."

Daisy giggled. "Good. Nighty night, 'arry." She patted Harry on the back and skipped back to her room.

A little weirded out by her behavior, Harry finished up and went back to Louis' room, knocking on the door and entering when he heard Louis say, "You can come in."

Louis had set up the sleeping bag next to his bed, the only rather spacious and empty space that was occupied by something. He was dressed in a huge sweater and shorts, showing his tan, perfect legs that Harry definitely wasn't staring at.

Louis yawned, covering his mouth as he did so, making him look so tiny and dainty and cute and Harry smiled softly. "Shall we sleep now?"

"Yeah, 'm sleepy," Louis mumbled, tucking himself into the sleeping bag. "Bedtime for me."

Harry turned off the lights and got into Louis' bed, which was a little small, but then again - everything about Louis was small and Harry loved it. He gingerly got under the covers, trying not to make too much noise as he lay down. Just like the clothes, the entire bed smelled like Louis, which somehow both relaxed and electrified Harry at the same time. He got comfortable and closed his eyes, listening to the rain outside the window and the gentle breathing that came from Louis, waiting for sleep to come to him.

He must've fallen asleep at one point, but he was suddenly jolted awake by a loud crack of thunder and lightning, which illuminated the room for a fraction of a second. Harry's heart rate sped up in panic when he was woken up, but slowed again when he realized it was just the storm outside. It sounded pretty bad, but he was indoors and safe in Louis' bed.

He closed his eyes, ready to go back asleep again as the thunder and lighting continued to rage outside. He was just about to fall asleep when he heard quiet sniffles and whimpers that made his flit open. He listened closely, trying to identify the origins of the sounds, and traced them back to... Louis?

As silently as he could, he sat up slightly and leaned over the bed, trying to see Louis. Through the dark, he could make out Louis curled up in his sleeping bag, crying gently and flinching and whimpering whenever there was lightning or thunder.

"Hey, Louis... you okay?" Harry's voice was low and gritty from the sleep.

Louis squeaked, not realizing that Harry was awake. He wiped his tears off his face and quickly said, "Yeah, I'm just a little scared of storms."

Harry's heart clenched sympathetically at how scared and helpless Louis looked. Harry used to be scared of storms when he was younger, and he remembered the fear that had entered his heart whenever there was a loud burst of thunder or lightning. Whenever there was a storm, Harry would run into Gemma's room and demand to be cuddled, much to his sister's chagrin, but she'd always given in and cuddled with Harry until the storm was over or until Harry fell asleep.

Harry couldn't just sit idly by while Louis was crying and whimpering - he needed to comfort Louis the best he could. In his fuzzy, sleepy stupor, the only way to comfort Louis he could think of was cuddling, which had always been his go-to demand when he himself wanted to be comforted.

"Hey, c'mere." Harry patted the empty space on the bed, immediately regretting it when he realized Louis would probably think he was a pervert and hate him forever.

However, Louis willingly got out of his sleeping bag and heaved himself up on the bed, curling up into a little ball again. He shuffled a little closer to Harry, leaning against Harry's leg and sniffling.

Too sleepy to think properly, Harry scooted closer to Louis and wrapped his arms around him. "Hey, you're okay. You're okay."

Louis snuggled into Harry, burying his face into Harry's chest and whimpering when there was a particularly loud crack of thunder. Harry could feel Louis trembling in his arms and cuddled him tighter, whispering calming, gentle words into Louis' hair, which was messy but still incredibly soft and smelled like vanilla. He rubbed Louis' back gently, rocking them back and forth in an effort to calm Louis down.

They stayed like that for a while, Louis slowly relaxing and being reduced to quiet sniffles and slight flinches when the storm raged on. Harry hummed softly, continuing to cuddle and soothe the blue-eyed boy. Somehow, it felt so right to Harry to have Louis in his arms, Louis' tiny hands grasping onto a bit of Harry's shirt and his face hidden in Harry's chest. 

Now that Louis was calm, the two stopped worrying about the storm and their eyes began feeling droopy again. It was the middle of the night, and Louis' blanket felt so soft and soothing, and Louis was so cute and cuddly in his arms and Harry was the perfect cuddle buddy...

And that's how they fell asleep, Louis's face buried into Harry's chest and Harry's face buried into Louis' hair, entwined into each other like two fitting puzzle pieces that had finally found each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please don't hesitate to give some honest feedback!


	16. Chapter 16

Harry woke up to a faceful of soft, fluffy hair that smelled like vanilla. There was also a tiny, warm, cuddly body tucked into his own, and Harry was slightly confused but also very comfortable at the same time. Opening his eyes a little, his eyes slowly registered a mop of caramel hair and a petite body that looked familiarly like... Louis?

Harry's eyebrows went up to his hairline and he almost had a full on heart attack right there on Louis' bed. _Oh my God. I'm touching Louis. Louis is touching me. We're cuddling. We're cuddling. I'm cuddling Louis Tomlinson._ He desperately tried to regulate his breathing, trying not to move too much lest Louis would wake up from Harry breathing too hard. 

What was he supposed to do now? Wake Louis up? But Louis looked so peaceful asleep, his long eyelashes fluttering against his cheekbones and his tiny little nose breathing in and out. Harry decided to just stay still and savor the moment - he'd probably never, ever get to cuddle Louis again and Harry wanted to drink in the feeling of Louis' body snuggled into his.

He lay there for a while, silently watching Louis sleep. It was so calming and soothing to watch, but at the same time Harry's heart was rabbiting in his chest, still not able to believe that he had the man of his dreams cuddled _right in his lap_.

When Louis' alarm rang, Harry quickly shut his eyes again, pretending to be asleep. He didn't want Louis to know he was awake when Louis found out that he was sleeping on top of Harry. He heard Louis make adorable grumpy noises when the alarm woke Louis, and a grunt when Louis reached his arm out to turn his alarm off. Then there was a gasp and a squeak and the warm body on top of Harry's suddenly disappeared as Louis sat up and got off the bed.

Harry could hear Louis pacing around his room for a few seconds, before Louis took a deep breath and shook Harry's shoulder. "Hey, um, Harry? It's time to wake up."

Harry let out a few groans and rubbed his eyes, pretending to have just been woken up instead of being awake the entire time. He opened his eyes and saw a very red-faced Louis hovering above him. 

" 'Morning." Harry's voice was raspy from the sleep.

"Good morning." Louis' cheeks were a very bright shade of red and Harry thought it was adorable. "Do you, uh, wanna get changed first? I-I guess you'll have to wear the clothes from yesterday, nothing I have is big enough on you for school."

"Yeah, sure." Harry held back a yawn. 

"I-I'll go brush my teeth." Louis practically rushed out of the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Harry alone in the room.

Harry lay in bed for a few more seconds, still high off the feeling of Louis' skin against his, when he suddenly remembered he had a History test today and jumped out of bed. As he changed, he couldn't help thinking about the night before, when he had cuddled Louis to sleep after comforting him. He felt so privileged to be able to do so, but he was also worried. What would Louis think of him now? Would Louis think that Harry was taking advantage of him? Would Louis even acknowledge Harry?

Sighing, he pulled on his clothes and packed his bag. The night before, he'd taken his books out and laid them out to dry. They were still a little damp, but Harry didn't care too much and carefully slid them back into his bag. Just as he finished packing, Louis came back from the bathroom and they switched places, with Louis changing and Harry going to the bathroom to get ready. 

Harry did his business and brushed his teeth, then tried his best to fix his appearance in the mirror. His hair was a mess as it always was in the morning, but he didn't have any of his usual products with him so he settled for combing his hair a little and using some water to try to make his hair look somewhat tame. His clothes from the day before were a bit rumpled but Harry ignored it - he was too busy worrying about Louis. Things had already been awkward between them, so what was going to happen now?

He had to be quick in the bathroom, though, because there were four other siblings that needed to get ready for school, and Fizzy was waiting impatiently outside the bathroom door. He finished up and went back to Louis' room, where Louis had finished changing and was also packing his schoolbag.

Louis was dressed in light blue jeans, with the bottoms rolled up a little to reveal his dainty ankles, and he also wore a giant, yellow sweater that had a little smiley face drawn on the breast. He looked adorable and Harry was lost in his beauty for a while before Louis turned around and looked at him, making Harry snap out of his trance. 

"Hey, um, about last night..." Louis twiddled with his thumbs shyly.

"What about last night?" Harry asked, feigning ignorance in case he and Louis were thinking about different things.

"Um, you know, I got scared of the storm and you, uh, c-cuddled me?" Louis' voice got progressively quieter and his face progressively redder.

"Oh, um, I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable."

"No, you didn't! It actually helped me calm down a lot, I, uh, just wanted to say thank you for helping me," Louis mumbled. 

"Don't mention it," Harry said quickly. "I'm happy to help." Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "You're a great cuddle buddy too." 

Harry thought Louis would faint from the expression on his face, but Louis quickly regained control of his facial expressions and managed a small smile. "Yeah, um, thanks. Anyway, we should go downstairs for breakfast. Mum's usually too busy to make breakfast for all of us in the morning, so we'll have to make something ourselves."

The two went downstairs, where they were the only ones in the kitchen. The rest of the Tomlinson siblings were still upstairs, getting ready, while Jay was also trying to help them braid their hair and pack their bags.

"What do you usually eat for breakfast?" Louis opened a few cupboards, trying to see what was available for breakfast.

"Oh, I don't know..." Harry shrugged. "Toast, hash browns, eggs? But honestly I'm fine with eating anything."

"How about toast and scrambled eggs?" Louis offered.

"Yeah, sure. Uh, what can I do to help?"

"Can you make the toast? The bread's in the cupboard above the sink."

They got to work, and in a few minutes they had made six portions of breakfast - one for each of the people in the house except for Fizzy, who didn't like eggs and would probably have some cereal instead. 

As the rest of the siblings slowly trickled downstairs and got settled down at the table, Louis and Harry started eating their breakfast. Phoebe tumbled down with her hair an unbraided mess, and Jay called from the top of the staircase, "Lou, can you help Pheebs do her hair, please? Lottie's accidentally cut herself."

"Sure, Mum," Louis called back, stuffing the rest of his breakfast into his mouth and washing his hands before patting his lap. "C'mere, Pheebs."

The little girl happily plopped herself into Louis' lap, handing Louis a few hair ties and a comb. Harry tried to contain his fond smile as he watched Louis braid his little sister's hair - Louis was such a sweet, caring elder brother and Harry loved it.

When breakfast was over, Jay insisted on not letting Harry wash the dishes. "You're the guest, there's no way we're letting you do it. Besides, we've got a schedule to follow and today is Louis and Lottie's turn."

So Harry got to sit on the living room couch, along with Phoebe, Daisy and Fizzy. Phoebe was standing behind Harry's seat on the couch, playing with Harry's hair while Daisy and Fizzy whispered among themselves.

" 'arry?" Phoebe tapped Harry's shoulder gently.

"Yeah?"

"LouLou is the best cuddle buddy, right?"

"Um, I guess so? He looks pretty cuddly."

"You cuddled him last night. You should know."

Harry's eyes widened and he whipped his hair around, destroying the braid Phoebe had been working on, making the little girl huff in annoyance. "How do you -"

"I went to LouLou's room last night 'cause the storm was scary and LouLou needs cuddles when he's scared. I opened the door and I saw you two!" Phoebe giggled.

"Oh, um, yeah, he was scared so I gave him a few cuddles. T-that's not weird, right?"

Phoebe giggled harder, but shook her head. "No it's not. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone!"

However, from the looks on Daisy and Fizzy's faces as they looked at Harry, Harry wasn't sure if Phoebe was actually good at keeping a secret. He brushed it off, though - he'd done the right thing in comforting Louis, and hopefully this "secret" wouldn't make it out of the Tomlinson family. 

By the time Louis and Lottie had finished washing the dishes, it was time to leave for school. Harry joined the lineup of siblings that were standing next to the door, pulling on their shoes and bags and waiting for Jay to give them a goodbye hug and kiss before they left. When Jay got to Harry, Harry took it as an opportunity to thank her again.

"Thank you so much for letting me stay the night and being so kind to me," Harry said.

Jay scoffed. "You don't need to thank me, there's no way I would let you go home in such a dangerous storm. Anyway, any friend of Louis' is always welcome here. Have a good day at school, Harry, good luck on your test!"

They filed out of the door, waving goodbye to Jay as they trooped down the pavement. Outside, it was like the storm had never existed - the sky was a lovely blue and the sun was shining, but there were a lot of fallen leaves and bits and pieces that had been knocked over the night before. Harry held his notebook in his hand, trying to do some more revision for the History test. Louis probably wanted to do the same, but both of the twins wanted to hold his hand and he didn't have any extra hands to hold his study materials with. Harry couldn't help cooing internally as he watched Louis hold one twin in each hand, swinging his arms and making the girls giggle.

After a few minutes, they parted ways with Lottie and Fizzy, as their school was in another direction. Lottie saw her friends and ran off almost immediately with a quick wave in Louis' direction, but Fizzy managed to give Louis and her little sisters a hug before she walked off. A few more minutes later, they reached Phoebe and Daisy's school. Louis squatted down to say goodbye to them and both twins gave Louis giant bear hugs and kisses on the cheek. Surprisingly, they also gave Harry's legs a tight hug before they were ushered inside the school by their teachers.

Harry and Louis continued on their way, Louis now finally free to pull out his study materials to study while they walked. They walked in silence, both too engrossed in studying to bother making small talk. When they eventually got to school, the two parted ways and Harry made his way to his locker. Liam was there too, leaning against the lockers next to Harry's one, a smug smile on his face.

"What are you smiling about, Payne?" Harry unlocked his locker and looked through his bag.

"Nothing much. Just that you literally spent the night at your crush's house." Liam's eyes sparkled with excitement. "So? How did it go? Did you guys kiss?"

"No we didn't!" Harry's cheeks immediately heated up at the mention of kissing. "Just... we cuddled."

"YOU CUDDLED?!" Liam practically shouted, making Harry cringe and try to cover Liam's mouth. Luckily for him, they were always early to arrive at school so no one was around and no one heard Liam.

"Liam, shut it."

"I'm not going to shut it, Harry. You and Louis _cuddled_! I can't believe it, you dog -"

"It wasn't like that," Harry protested. "It wasn't romantic or anything. Louis is scared of storms and in the middle of the night the storm got really bad and he was crying and whimpering and I cuddled him to comfort him."

"Still. You actively cuddled him. You offered him your cuddling services. I'm so proud of you."

"I-I wasn't thinking straight when I offered to cuddle him, I was so sleepy," Harry admitted. "Oh God, he's going to think I'm some kind of weirdo perverted freak for offering to cuddle him."

"Harry, I'm sure you're fine. He allowed you to cuddle you, didn't he? Plus, it's not like you did anything besides cuddle him. You were just trying to do something nice," Liam reassured him. "So? How was it? Was cuddling Louis everything you've ever wanted?"

Harry closed his locker and shouldered his bag. "I-it was pretty awesome. He's so soft and cuddly and he smells so _good_."

"Did he cuddle you back?"

"Yeah, I mean I guess he was so scared so he hugged me really tight."

"Good for you."

As they walked towards the library, Harry continued telling Liam the details of his time at Louis' house. Liam was grinning like a maniac. "Harry, you're a lucky, lucky boy."

Harry stayed silent, blush continuing to color his cheeks. He did feel really lucky, but he wasn't sure what was going to happen now. Was Louis going to continue being so cold and standoffish? They reached the library, which was practically empty besides a few early birds that had come to study. Sitting down at a table, they pulled out their History materials and continued studying with slightly damp and soggy notebooks and textbooks.

A few lessons later, it was finally time for their History test. In Harry's previous class, Math, the teacher had graciously allowed the History students to spend the last ten minutes of the class studying for History. As Harry made his way from Math to History, his nose was buried in a textbook, trying desperately to do some last-minute revision and cram as many of the dates into his head as possible. He met Liam outside the classroom, where they didn't even bother greeting each other and stood there, wordlessly studying.

Mr. Andrews soon arrived and ushered them into the classroom, with a giant stack of papers in his arms. Everyone sat down at their tables and put all of their materials away, anxiously waiting for Mr. Andrews to give out the test papers. Harry was jiggling his leg as he waited, looking around and making eye contact with a few of his friends, flashing them a nervous expression that was always reciprocated. 

When Mr. Andrews finally yelled, "Start!" Harry almost jumped out of his seat and dove right into the paper, allowing himself to get immersed into all of his History knowledge for the next fifty minutes while he completed his test. After the test, as he was heading to his next lesson with a few of his friends, he felt rather pleased with himself. The test had been pretty hard, but all of his studying had paid off and Harry knew he'd at least pass this test.

During lunch, Harry's friends were discussing the answers to the History test as they ate. Harry was half-listening to their conversation to try to check his own answers against theirs, and he was half looking around the cafeteria absentmindedly. As usual, his eyes flitted over to where Louis, Zayn and Niall sat. 

They seemed to be in a really heated discussion, with Louis' cheeks slightly pink and his facial expressions big and wild. Harry couldn't help smiling fondly as he watched Louis talk, loving to see Louis in his natural habitat and wishing he'd act more like that around Harry.

In Biology, they had a free period, as their teacher was away and had just told the substitute to let the class have some free time. Harry didn't have Liam in Biology, and although he did know practically everyone else in the class, he decided to spend the lesson by himself, plugging in his earphones and grabbing a book from his bag.

However, his plans to read for the free period were ruined when Niall tapped his shoulder and called his name five minutes later. He didn't mind it though, because standing slightly behind Niall was a very shy and cute-looking Louis, who was clutching the behind of Niall's shirt nervously.

"Hey." Harry pulled his earphones out and slipped a bookmark into his book. "What's up?"

"How was the History test?" Niall sat down at the table in front of Harry and turned around to talk to him, tugging Louis down into the seat next to him. Louis squeaked and practically fell down into the chair, cheeks flushing pink.

"I thought you weren't a History student," Harry said.

"I'm not, but I'm curious," Niall grinned. "Louis is a History student, aren't you?"

Niall nudged Louis with his elbow, and Louis said, "Oh! Um, yeah, we're in the same History class, aren't we?"

"Mhmm." Harry turned to Louis. "How was the test for you?"

Louis shrugged. "It was alright. I mean, I studied for it so of course it wasn't too hard, but it was still... hard, you know?"

Harry nodded. "I get what you mean, it was the same for me."

"You guys are going to go back to doing your group project now, right?" Niall prompted. "And you guys are in the same group?"

"Uh, yeah. Speaking of which, we probably need to schedule some more out-of-school meetings to work on the project," Harry said. "Louis, when are you free?"

Niall scoffed. "Boring! You guys can figure that out by yourselves. Let's talk about something more interesting."

Harry laughed at how direct Niall was. "Alright. What do you want to talk about?"

"Were you guys okay in the storm yesterday? It got really bad," Niall said. "I got home before it even started raining but my mum's flower garden is ruined. I also heard that you stayed behind yesterday, did you make it home okay?"

There was a glint in Niall's eye that madr Harry just a little uncomfortable, but he answered, "Yeah, I stayed behind to study for History. Um, the storm got really bad before I could get home, so I, uh, spent the night at Louis' house."

"Cool, cool, cool." Niall smirked. "Just lovely."

Louis cleared his throat, making an adorable little "ahem", and he nudged Niall's arm. Niall jumped and said, "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. Hey, Harry, do you and Liam want to come to Louis' houe afterschool today? We're having a sleepover to celebrate the end of the History test."

Harry didn't even have to think before he answered. Spend two consecutive nights sleeping at Louis' house? Hell yeah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please give some honest feedback! it would be really helpful :)


	17. Chapter 17

Harry spent the rest of the school day trying not to think about the sleepover and failing miserably. 

He felt so privileged to be invited to the sleepover - it meant Niall, Louis, and Zayn liked him enough to allow him into their private little best-friend sleepover. Being accepted into the tight-knit friendship group was like being accepted into a secret club and Harry felt so honored, but he was also panicking and dying inside.

His main source of stress every time something Louis-related happened was always the same - Harry had literally no confidence in himself. He was _sure_ that he was going to screw up in some way and make himself look like a complete fool. Granted, he'd been in several encounters with Louis and he'd never screwed up _too_ bad, but that didn't mean he was going to royally mess up this time! It probably wasn't a good idea to continually put so much stress on himself and worry about Louis' opinion of him 24/7, but Harry would be stupid if he said no to the sleepover invite.

As soon as Biology was over, Harry dashed out of the classroom and tried to locate Liam, who he found waiting outside their Math classroom, the last lesson of the day.

"Leeyum!" Harry collided into Liam and nearly knocked both of them over, only saved by Liam's sturdiness as the passing students shot them weird looks.

"Whoa, Harry, slow down." Liam steadied them both. "What's happening?"

Harry pulled Liam away from the other students outside the classroom and said excitedly, "Niall invited us to their sleepover!"

"Wait - what?" Liam almost choked on his own spit.

"During Biology, Niall and Louis just came up to me and invited us to their sleepover after school today. You're coming, right?"

"Wait, let me clarify - Zayn's going to be there?"

"I think so, yeah."

"I'm going to have a sleepover with Zayn Malik?"

"Yeah."

"I-I mean, yeah, of course I'll come!" Liam spluttered, still shocked. "I just have to check with my mum."

"Oh yeah, I haven't checked with Mum yet. I'm sure she'll say yes, though."

"So will mine." 

They stood there in silence for a few seconds, still trying to take in the news, before Harry burst out, "What am I going to do? I'm going to have a sleepover with Louis and he's going to think I'm an idiot -"

"You're asking _me_. At least you have more experience with Louis! You literally cuddled him to sleep last night! I've never been that close to Zayn before."

"But you're less clumsy than me, you're not going to mess up in front of your crush," Harry said miserably.

"That's true. You're an absolute doofus, H."

"Hey! That's not helping!"

"What? I'm just being honest."

Harry groaned. He really hated his best friend sometimes.

*****

When the school day was over, Harry and Liam were at their lockers when Niall, Zayn and Louis approached them.

"Hey guys!" Niall greeted them brightly, while both Zayn and Louis gave tiny waves as their form of greeting.

"Hey." Harry hoped his voice wasn't too shaky with nerves.

"You guys are coming to the sleepover tonight, right?"

"Yep." Both Harry and Liam answered simultaneously, making them glance at each other before turning back to Niall.

"Good! You guys probably need to go home and pack toiletries and all that so maybe we'll meet at Louis' house in an hour or two?" Niall proposed. "We can keep in touch through text and all that."

"Yeah, sure. We'll see you guys there." Harry slung his backpack over his shoulder and waved goodbye as Niall, Louis and Zayn walked off. As soon as they were out of sight, his cool demeanor immediately melted off and he could barely contain his squeals.

Liam wasn't any different, and he had a sort of dazed look on his face, still in a slight trance after being graced with Zayn's presence. Harry snorted at Liam's expression and tugged on his sleeve. "Come on, we've got to get ready and I've got to figure out what I'm going to wear. I don't know if I own any fashionable pajamas."

"Go shirtless, then."

"Liam!"

"What? I'm sure Louis will appreciate the sight of your bare, muscly chest more than he will the sight of some fancy clothes."

"Liam _Payne_!"

Liam laughed. "I'm just kidding. You really can't take a joke when it comes to Louis, can you?"

Harry blushed and pretended he hadn't heard Liam's words. "Alright, Li, come _on_. Let's go."

On the way home, Harry called Anne as they walked. "Hey, Mum."

Anne's warm voice flowed down the other end of the line. "Hey, sweetie."

"Mum, Niall's invited Liam and I to a sleepover with Louis and Zayn tonight, can I go?"

"It's a Friday today, right? You don't have school tomorrow?"

"Yep. No school tomorrow."

"Hmm." Anne deliberated for a few seconds, then said, "Yeah, okay, dear. You're staying home on the weekend, though, that's two nights you're not sleeping at home and I miss my baby boy."

"Alright, Mum, I won't leave your side for two days straight if that's what you want." 

"Remember, you promised! I've got to go back to work, love, I'll see you soon. I love you!"

"Bye, Mum. Love you too." Harry had a small smile on his face as he hung up. He turned to Liam, who was on the phone with his own mother, and flashed a thumbs up sign.

When Harry had said goodbye to Liam and arrived at his home, he set his bag down on the floor and flopped onto his bed, not really caring that his clothes were all dirty. Since he'd spent the night at Louis' last night, he did kind of miss his own bed, and he was going to spend a quality five minutes with it before he was going to spend the night at Louis' again.

He spent the next hour packing an overnight bag and fussing over his appearance. He also took a shower, as he'd been caught in the rain the day before and hadn't showered at Louis' place, and the mountains of cologne he'd sprayed on in the morning was starting to wear off. Gemma had also come home from school and a very whiny Harry had convinced her to help him get ready. 

Once Harry was finally done with his packing and getting ready, he grabbed his phone and texted Liam, who was also ready to leave for Louis' house. Through the newly-made group chat that had all five of the boys, they knew that Niall was already at Louis' house but Zayn wasn't. With Niall around, things wouldn't be too awkward, so the two met at Harry's house and set off for Louis'.

On the way there, Harry was extremely jittery and restless, all of his worries about Louis conveniently pouring into his head as he walked. It was always so daunting whenever Harry came into close proximity with Louis, but sleeping at Louis' house and spending hours and hours with him was something else. Harry wasn't sure if he could come out of it alive. Yes, he'd spent the night at Louis' house the day before, but that was different. That had been involuntary, where neither Louis or Harry had a choice. This time, Louis had voluntarily invited Harry to his house to hang out and spend the night - Louis trusted him enough to invite Harry into his home. Well, maybe Niall was the one that forced Louis to let Harry come, but Harry liked to think that Louis trusted him. After all, Louis wouldn't have let himself be cuddled and comforted by Harry in the storm if he didn't trust him, right?

Before they rang the doorbell, Liam and Harry stood on Louis' doorstep, both having mini panic attacks and trying to simultaneously calm each other down. Harry eventually managed to gather up the courage and rang the doorbell, then tried to check his hair by looking into his warped reflection in the doorknob. 

Jay answered the door and welcomed them warmly. "Hello, boys! Come on in."

They stepped in and slipped off their shoes, then headed to the living room, where Jay said Louis and Niall were. They were sitting on the couch, each with a twin in his lap, watching afternoon cartoons on the television. All four of them turned their heads when Harry and Liam entered, and they all smiled and said their hellos.

"We're just watching cartoons with the twins while we wait for Zayn," Niall explained. "He always takes ages to get ready, even for a sleepover." He shuffled over on the couch to make some space, and Louis followed suit. "Sit down, you can watch with us."

Zayn arrived half an hour later, looking like a Greek god with a perfectly styled quiff sitting atop his head. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see Liam in awe next to him.

Niall clapped his hands. "Alright guys, what do you want to do first?"

"Scrabbly!" Phoebe piped up from Louis' lap.

Louis tapped his sister's nose gently. "Hey, little miss, you're supposed to be doing your homework, not playing games with us."

Phoebe pouted, reminding Harry of Louis' own adorable pout. "But I wanna play too!"

Jay, who was passing by the living room, said, "Pheebs, dear, don't bother Lou and his friends. C'mon, love, you can go play with your sisters. Dais, you too."

The twins reluctantly hopped off Louis and Niall's laps and toddled off after their mother.

"Phoebe's suggestion wasn't bad, do you guys wanna play Scrabble?" Louis offered.

"Scrabble's for four though, and there's five of us," Zayn said.

"Two of us can partner up," Niall said. "Anyone got any objections for Scrabble?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Scrabble it is, then." Louis stood up. "I'll go find it."

They set the Scrabble board in the middle of the living room and they all sat on the floor, setting the game up. To figure out which two of them would play as a team, they pulled their phones out and used a random wheel picker to pick out two names. The first wheel landed on Louis' name.

"Ooh, I really hope it'll pick me next," Niall said as he spun the wheel on his phone again. "Lou's good at Scrabble."

Zayn peeked over Niall's shoulder at his phone. "And Lou's going to play with... Harry."

Harry swore it was like somebody was making sure he and Louis were paired together every chance they got.

Niall looked a bit disappointed at not being chosen, but his face quickly morphed into an almost evil-looking grin. "Louis and Harry. Harry, you alright with that?"

Harry felt a bit faint, but managed to stammer out, "Uh, yeah, of course."

The boys shifted around so that each of them were sitting at one of the sides of the Scrabble board. There was a limited space on Louis and Harry's side of the board, as two people were sharing it instead of the usual one, and the two had to squish together and their shoulders were glued together. Being so close to Louis made Harry's heartbeat immediately speed up. 

They were starting the game, and Louis was showing Harry their tiles, whispering possible words in Harry's ear. When Louis' warm breath hit the side of Harry's face, Harry felt all the hair on his arms stand up and he tried to focus on what Louis was saying, but all he could comprehend was that Louis' pink lips were so close to his ear and his soft hair was brushing against Harry's neck and he smelled so _good._ Harry nodded along mindlessly to whatever Louis was saying, trusting Louis to choose the best word for their turn while Harry was still in a stupor.

Once he finally got over the shock of Louis being so incredibly close to him, Harry started actually getting into the game, having intense, whispered conversations with Louis whenever it was their turn to play a word. Harry was pleasantly surprised that he and Louis weren't a bad team, with Louis coming up with all the possible word combinations they could use and Harry assessing the board and figuring out which one worked the best in their favor. 

Two rounds of Scrabble later, Zayn had won the first round and Louis and Harry had won the second after getting more used to their dynamic. It was getting a little late and Louis checked his watch. "Um, do you guys want to start making dinner?"

"Ooh, what are we making?" Niall's eyes lit up, always excited for food.

"Pizza, I think." Louis' glasses had slipped down his nose and he adjusted them. "We each make our own one and Mum'll put them in the oven for us. You guys can go to the kitchen and get started first, I'll go get the little ones - they love making pizza."

Louis returned with a horde of his siblings, who were all anxious to start making their pizzas. The large kitchen was now quite crowded, with five boys, four girls, and one mum, so Jay, Lottie, Fizzy, Liam and Zayn left the kitchen to make a little more space.

"We'll come back and make our ones later," Zayn said as he followed Liam out of the kitchen. "Have fun."

So now Harry was left alone in the kitchen with Louis, Niall and the twins. He looked longingly at Liam's back, wishing his best friend hadn't abandoned him, and tried to calm his nerves. He knew how to cook - he loved cooking - and simply assembling a pizza wouldn't be so hard. He _probably_ wouldn't mess up in front of Louis.

Louis was cutting up the giant ball of pizza dough into ten chunks with a knife, while Daisy and Phoebe were tugging at his sleeves, begging him to cut faster so they could start making their pizzas. Harry watched them with a fond but slightly worried expression on his face. It wasn't the safest thing to have two little girls tugging on Louis' sleeves and making his arms move unexpectedly while he had a knife in his hand.

"LouLou! Want pizza," Daisy demanded. 

"Just wait a second, Dais, I'm almost finished cutting up the dough," Louis said absentmindedly. "Be patient, okay?"

"Pizza!" Phoebe jerked Louis' right arm - the hand holding the knife - around.

"Pheebs, babe, stop it. I'm holding a knife and it's dangerous to - ow!" Louis dropped the knife suddenly and examined his finger, which was starting to bleed. It didn't look too serious, but it was enough for the twins to let go of Louis and shriek. 

Harry immediately rushed over to Louis and inspected Louis' cut worriedly. He hated the sight of Louis being hurt - Louis was a soft, delicate, perfect angel that should be protected at all costs, and even a small cut was concerning to Harry. "Louis, are you okay? Does it hurt? Do you feel faint? How deep is the cut? Do you need to go to the hospital? I-"

Harry was cut off by the sound of Louis giggling. "Harry, I'm fine. It stings a little bit, I don't feel faint, the cut's pretty shallow, and I definitely don't need to go to the hospital."

"Oh, um, good." Harry's cheeks turned light pink at his outburst, but you really couldn't blame him. Who wouldn't be overprotective over a cute little hedgehog like Louis? "Do you need a bandage? I have some in my wallet."

"That would be great, thanks." 

When Harry came back with a bandage, Louis had cleaned the cut and he held out the finger for Harry to bandage. Harry bandaged Louis' finger carefully, trying not to apply too much pressure so he wouldn't aggravate the fresh cut. Once he was done, Harry was tempted to kiss the finger, but stopped himself just in time. "There you go."

"Thank you, Harry." Louis gave Harry a soft, gentle smile that graced his face beautifully, and Harry was in awe.

Standing against the kitchen wall, Niall, Phoebe and Daisy were watching them with wide, intent eyes, mouths slightly hanging open. Louis turned to look at them. "What are you guys staring at?"

"Nothing!" Niall cleared his throat loudly. "Um, pizzas, am I right?" 

Louis rolled his eyes, got back to cutting up the dough, and they soon started making their pizzas. Daisy and Phoebe had calmed down considerably, feeling a bit guilty that their earlier excitement had caused their brother to cut himself, but they still surrounded Louis and vied for his attention, and Niall and Harry were left outside of their little bubble. 

"They're always like this," Niall told Harry. "All of them are. Well, the older two are less clingy than they used to be, but the twins never want to leave Louis' side."

"It's quite cute."

"It is, isn't it? Wish my brother would be as nice to me as Louis is to his siblings." 

Dinner was delicious and Harry was rather proud of his creation, which both looked and tasted like a masterpiece (of course, Harry was a little biased). Jay insisted that the boys should continue having fun and that she'd clean up and wash the dishes for them, so the five boys returned to the living room.

"Just out of curiosity, where are we sleeping tonight?" Liam asked.

"Here. Living room." Niall settled down on the couch. "We usually move the couches and set up a little cozy space in the center of the living room. Speaking of which, we can get started on that now. Then we can play games and watch telly under our blankets!"

Louis went up to his room and came back down with an armful of blankets and a giant pile of stuffies, and sitting atop the pile was Larry, the white, fluffy teddy Harry had won for Louis at the arcade.

"You've got a lot of stuffies," Harry commented. "Why haven't I ever seen them before?"

"Oh, um." Louis blushed. "They're usually at the end of my bed, but when people come over I usually put them in my closet."

"You shouldn't. They're adorable." Harry helped Louis set them down on the couch, which had already been pushed aside to create a big space in the living room. 

"Thanks." Louis played with his sweater paws shyly.

They spread out some old mattresses on the floor and set their blankets over them, then scattered Louis' stuffies around so each boy could have a stuffie to cuddle with. Harry glanced over at Louis, who was cuddling with Larry, his nose buried in the teddy's fur. It warmed Harry's heart - Louis and the teddy were an endearing sight.

"Let's watch some horror movies," Liam suggested when Niall turned on the television and dimmed the lights.

"No!" Louis refusal was instant and insistent. "No way."

"Lou's scared of them," Niall said. "He's really scared of them."

"No horror movies, then." Harry was determined to take Louis' side on everything. "We can still watch something that's thrilling, like, I don't know... Sherlock?"

"That's still kind of scary!" Louis protested.

"Oh, c'mon Lou, it's not that bad. You'll be fine," Zayn said from his sleeping spot. "Ni, put some Sherlock on."

Niall was sitting in between Louis and Harry, but Harry still managed to sneak occasional glances at Louis, cooing internally when he saw that Louis was clinging onto Larry tightly, blue eyes wide open, flinching time to time when something tense would happen on the television. Harry had the sudden urge to cuddle and comfort Louis like he had the night before, but quickly shook himself out of it and returned his focus to the television screen again.

Several episodes later, Harry noticed that Louis' eyes were getting droopy and he was practically half-asleep, still cuddling Larry. Niall noticed too, and nudged Louis. "Lou, it's not that late. Are you sleepy already?"

"Hm?" Louis' blue eyes fluttered around a bit. "We watched so many episodes and 'm _sleepy_."

"Fair enough." Liam's voice sounded a little rough from not speaking for the duration of several episodes. "It's not that late but it's not that early either. I'm a bit sleepy myself."

Niall squinted at the time on his phone. "It's eleven thirty. Don't you guys wanna play some classic sleepover games before we sleep? Isn't it a typical thing to sleep very late at sleepovers?"

"We can play them tomorrow morning if you want, Ni." Louis had somehow slipped down so he was lying snug under his blankets. "Can we go to sleep now?"

"Alright then." Niall resigned to agreeing with whatever Louis wanted, because who wouldn't?

Zayn got up to switch off the lights and television, and they all slipped under their blankets. Harry tried to relax, a little tense at the sudden silence that consumed the living room, but he soon fell asleep to the sound of quiet breathing and periodic rustling whenever one of the boys would move around in their mattress.

When Harry woke up, something about his position reminded him about the situation he'd been in the morning before. His face was once again buried into a head of soft, fluffy hair that smelled like vanilla, and there was once again a smaller body tucked into his. Louis?

The only thing that was different was that there was a fake-blonde Irishman standing above them, grinning like a madman. "Morning, Harry."

"Niall? What -"

"I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and when I got back you'd taken my spot. You'd somehow moved across my mattress and you were wrapped around Louis so tightly and I couldn't get you to move back to your own spot, since you were taking up mine. I had to sleep in your spot. But, look, Louis cuddled you back and you two were all snuggly."

Harry spluttered and swiftly let go of Louis, sitting up as his cheeks turned a nice shade of a bright beet red. "I, I didn't know I was -"

"You probably weren't awake when it happened, you were just moving in your sleep." Niall's smirk was so wide, Harry was half afraid it was going to split his face open. "It's like you automatically gravitated to Louis when you had the chance. Isn't that cute?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry if this chapter felt rushed, i wanted to finish writing the sleepover scene in one chapter and i didn't want to publish late and i crammed everything in. hope it wasn't too bad.


	18. Chapter 18

Before Louis could wake up, Harry scooted back onto his own mattress, groggy and disoriented from just waking up. The sun filtered harshly through the window and Harry squinted, eyes needing a little more time to adjust to the light. 

Niall chortled and flopped down onto his mattress. "Glad I could finally get my spot back. Thanks, Harry."

Cheeks still bright red and still getting over the shock that he'd woken up curled around Louis, Harry stuttered, "S-sorry about that. I didn't mean to take up your spot."

"Ehh, don't worry about it." Niall waved his hand dismissively. "Though, next time you should just sleep next to Louis. It'll be easier for all of us."

Embarrassed, Harry pretended he hadn't heard what Niall said and he scrabbled around for his phone, looking at the time displayed on the screen and deciding it was too early to get up. He switched his phone off and set it on the floor, then turned to Niall. "What were you doing up so early, anyway?"

Niall shrugged. "Needed the bathroom again. I drank a lot of water last night. Anyway, I'm going to go back to sleep again. The others won't be waking up so soon, so there isn't much to do."

"Yeah, I guess so." Harry lay down and slipped back underneath the covers, but while Niall's breathing slowed and evened out after a few minutes, Harry couldn't fall asleep again. The panic and confusion of waking up with Louis in his arms had jolted him out of his sleepy stupor and even now, his heart was beating rapidly, hammering against his rib cage. Not only had he accidentally cuddled Louis in the middle of the night, it had happened in front of Niall, and now any hope of Louis not knowing about it were crushed. Harry had originally thought that Louis wouldn't know, because he hadn't woken up yet, but Niall was definitely going to tell Louis about the guy who just randomly rolled over and started cuddling Louis in the middle of the night. Louis was going to think he was some kind of a pervert now.

Also - how did the cuddling even happen? There was an entire mattress between Louis and Harry's mattresses, plus half a foot of space between each mattress. Harry had somehow moved - rolled, maybe? - across all of this space and cuddled Louis, all in his sleep. Like Niall had said, it was like Harry gravitated towards Louis any chance he got, which was sort of embarrassing considering he and Louis were only starting to become friends and Harry was already so subconsciously clingy. Well, Louis had cuddled back, so that meant something, right? But maybe Louis was a naturally cuddly person and his reflex was to cuddle back, in which case it didn't mean anything at all except that Louis was cuddly, which was an adorable trait that made Harry fall for him more.

He rolled over in his mattress, trying to force the thought of Louis out of his mind so he could go back to sleep and wake up at a more appropriate hour where everyone would be awake, but he ended up drifting in and out of sleep, unable to properly fall asleep as his worries about Louis plagued his mind. He was finally woken up by the sound of the other boys talking and moving around, realizing that everyone else was probably up. He opened his eyes and sat up, rubbing his eyes and trying to adjust to the light again.

"Oh good, you're awake," Liam said from the far side of the living room, where his mattress lay next to Zayn's. "Niall said we should wake up and get ready before everyone else does."

"Yeah, when Louis' sisters and mum wakes up, it'll take ages for everyone to get ready since there's only so many bathrooms." Niall yawned.

Harry looked around the living room, taking everything in. All of the boys were awake, except Louis, who was still fast asleep on top of his mattress, curled up into a small ball like a hedgehog, arms wrapped tightly around Larry the teddy bear. He looked so tiny and peaceful and Harry wanted to cuddle him again, but he quickly shot that thought out of his head. "Um, should we wake Louis up?"

"Leave him be, he likes to sleep in, especially on the weekends. He'll kill you if you try to wake him up," Zayn said. "I speak from experience. You don't want to deal with a sleepy, stubborn Louis first thing in the morning, so wake up him at the last possible moment."

"You're the exact same, Zayn," Niall said accusingly. "Sleepovers with you two is basically just me trying to wake you guys up in the morning for an entire hour. I don't know why you woke up early today, though."

"Whatever. I'm going to go to the bathroom first." There was a slight flush on Zayn's cheeks, but maybe Harry was just going blind.

"Hey! No way, you always take the longest in there, so you're going last." Niall stood up. " _I'm_ going first."

"Fine." Zayn rolled his eyes. "But speak a little quieter, won't you? Lou's still sleeping."

When all of the boys had finished taking turns using the bathrooms, the rest of the Tomlinson family were starting to wake up too, and it was time to wake Louis up. Niall knelt down next to Louis and shook his shoulder, saying, "Lou? It's time to wake up." 

Louis made a cute little tired noise and swatted Niall's hand away, burying his face deeper into Larry. Niall repeated his words and shook Louis again. Louis rolled away from Niall and whined, "No... go away." Niall let out an exasperated sigh and bent down, whispering something into Louis' ear, which made his eyes immediately fly open. "I'm awake, I'm awake."

Niall straightened up, smiling triumphantly. "There we go."

Louis slipped his glasses on and sat up, still cuddling Larry close to his chest. His hair was all over the place, sticking up in several directions, and his clothes were rumpled, giving him a disheveled look. Combined with his sleep-soft eyes and the endearing pout on his face, Harry thought he looked absolutely beautiful. 

"C'mon Lou, we've all gotten ready and you're the only one who hasn't. After you're done, we can go make breakfast and hang out for a bit more before we go home," Niall suggested. "Go get ready before your sisters take over the bathrooms."

"Mm, okay." Louis stretched, yawned, then got up and padded upstairs to go get ready. He came down with his hair more tame but still cute and fluffy, and wearing an ensemble of over-sized clothes that made him look smaller than he already was. "Alright, let's make breakfast, I'm hungry."

Five boys meant that the kitchen was a little crowded, but they managed to make their breakfast, plus some more for the other Tomlinsons. They ate their breakfast sitting on their mattresses, chatting about school and schoolwork. Harry didn't talk much, still a little too shy and embarrassed from the earlier events to participate wholeheartedly in the conversation, but he kept his eyes on Louis, which he probably shouldn't have done, as it would only make him fall for Louis more, but Harry couldn't help it.

After breakfast, they washed the dishes and returned to their cozy sleeping spots, having an hour or so of time left before their sleepover would be over and everyone would go home. Niall insisted on playing all of the classic sleepover games they hadn't gotten to play the night before, so everyone shifted around until they were sitting in some sort of circle.

"Let's play Truth," Louis proposed, plopping Larry back onto his lap. "I don't wanna do the dares but answering the questions is fun."

"I agree, it's too early for dares, anyway." Liam stretched out comfortably on his mattress. 

"Alright." Niall pulled out his phone and found a question generator on the Internet. "Let's just go clockwise. I'll start first."

The questions generated on Niall's phone were rather tame, which was a big relief for Harry because he didn't want to expose all of his secrets and embarrassing moments in front of Louis. However, after several rounds of questioning, Niall got fed up by all of the uninteresting questions. "These questions aren't fun at all. Wait, I'll go find another question generator with juicier questions."

_Juicier questions?_ Harry was getting nervous now, but convinced himself he could (probably) fib his way out of answering a question if the answer was going to make him look bad. The new questions were indeed juicier, and the boys were getting a little giggly and hyper because of it, but Harry hadn't been asked anything _too_ juicy yet.

"Zayn, name one annoying thing about every person in this room," Niall read off his phone.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes!" all of the boys chorused.

Zayn huffed. "Fine. Okay, um..." He looked to his right, at Liam. "You're too much of a goody two shoes."

Harry chuckled a little bit at the offended look on Liam's face, but it was his turn to pull an offended face when Zayn turned to him and said, "You're too tall."

Harry scoffed. "How is that an annoying thing about me?"

Zayn shrugged. "It just is. Niall, you're too loud."

"Hmm, yeah, I guess so." Niall seemed to take his insult pretty well.

"And Lou, you're too adorable."

"I am _not_ adorable." Louis made a face - which, ironically, was adorable.

"Keep telling yourself that," Niall said. "Maybe one day it'll actually come true." Louis was about to protest again, but Niall shushed him. "It's your turn to answer a question. Okay, out of all the people in this room, which person do you want to date the most?"

Louis' face immediately turned bright red, and his mouth opened, like he was about to say something, but he stayed silent as he looked around the room, surveying each of the boys. Harry looked away, trying not to make eye contact with Louis. He was hoping that Louis would say his name, but he knew deep down that there was no way Louis would do that.

After several seconds of silence, Louis finally said, "I don't want to date any of you. This game is stupid. Can we play something else?"

Even though Harry was sure Louis wouldn't have said his name, he was still crestfallen at hearing Louis' answer. Louis didn't want to date any of them, including Harry. Harry had known that already, but it still hurt a little to hear Louis say it.

" _You_ suggested this game," Niall said, but his voice was a little soft and gentle, like he knew something about Louis' reaction that Harry didn't. "But yeah, we can play something else. Before that, though, how about we just do one round of dares?"

The atmosphere in the room had suddenly turned a little somber, but all of the boys nodded their agreement. Their moods turned more playful again as the dares started, with Niall doing his best chicken dance outside on the front porch for all the neighbors to see, Harry eating a large spoonful of butter (gross but somewhat tolerable), Liam trying (and failing) to do a handstand, and Zayn running outside to scream "I just wet my pants!" at the first person he saw, who just so happened to be a very confused and innocent elderly woman who just screamed, "Okay!" back.

It was finally Louis' turn, who didn't look very happy about having to do a dare. Niall tapped at the generator on his phone and said, "Lou, your dare is to kiss the second person on your left on the cheek."

_Well, whoever gets to be kissed by Louis is going to be the luckiest person in the world,_ Harry thought, looking around their circle to figure out who was the second person on Louis' left. Sitting on Louis' left was Niall, and sitting next to Niall was... Harry?

"Harry's the second person on your left, go kiss him on the cheek, Lou," Zayn said, a small hint of amusement in his voice. 

Louis and Harry made eye contact over Niall's head, both of their cheeks flushed pink. Harry's heart was beating so fast and hard it was a wonder that no one else could hear it. Louis made the cutest little _ahem!_ sound, moved around Niall, squatted down next to Harry and promptly gave him a peck on the cheek before scuttling back to his mattress and hiding his face behind Larry the teddy bear. 

Harry tried desperately to keep a straight face, entire body rigid and a little numb as he convinced himself that it was just a dare and Louis didn't _want_ to kiss him and it wasn't a big deal so he should really stop freaking out about it. He could still feel the place on his cheek where Louis kissed him, and refrained from squealing.

"There, our dares are done." Niall was smirking like a madman again, jolting Harry out of his trance because the smirk was so creepy. "What do you guys want to do now?"

They spent the last half an hour of the sleepover playing FIFA. Even though Harry was the captain of the football team, he'd never been very good at playing the video game, which he partially blamed on the fact that his large hands sometimes made it hard to control the player. Louis, meanwhile, was surprisingly good at the game, remaining calm throughout the game while the other boys were screaming and shouting at the screen. In the end, Louis' composure won him the game, and he grinned jubilantly, crowing at all the other boys, "Take that, you suckers!"

"Take that, you suckers!" Phoebe chirped from where she was sitting on the couch, watching the game, wanting to copy whatever her brother said.

"Hey! Don't say that, young lady," Zayn said, rapping his knuckles gently on top of Phoebe's head.

"Why?"

"It's rude."

"But LouLou said it!" Phoebe folded her arms, taking on an endearingly affronted expression.

"And LouLou shouldn't have." Louis came over and lifted his sister of the couch. "Now, back to your room. You're not invited to our sleepover."

"Fine." Phoebe _hmph_ 'ed and went back upstairs.

Another round of FIFA later, it was time for everyone to go home. They helped Louis return the living room to its previous state, and went to thank Jay and the other Tomlinsons for their hospitality, and apologize for preventing them from using their living room for one night.

"It's really no problem, boys," Jay said warmly. "It's lovely to see Louis having fun with his friends, and you're all welcome to come again! I hope you guys didn't mind sleeping on the floor in the living room."

"It was actually really comfortable, so thank you!" Liam said as Jay and Louis escorted them to the front door.

"See you guys at school, then," Louis said, opening the door for them. 

"See ya, Lou." Niall reached over and mussed up Louis' hair. Zayn simply waved his goodbye.

"Thank you for the sleepover." Liam flashed Louis a smile.

"Bye, Louis," Harry said as he passed Louis on his way out of the front door.

"Bye, Harry." Harry thought there was a slight tint of pink in Louis' cheeks, but decided he was going blind again, and gave Louis one last beam before the door closed shut. 

"You guys are just going to go home, right?" Niall asked as they trooped down the front porch and closed the gate to Louis' house behind them.

"Mm, yeah. I promised Mum I'd spend more time with her this weekend, since I haven't slept at home for the last two nights," Harry explained. "How about you?"

"Me too, I've got some homework to catch up on." Niall stretched. "Well, my house is the other way, so bye, I guess."

They said their goodbyes and Liam, Harry and Zayn set off in the other direction. Harry tried to keep his distance from the other two, giving them some space to have their own conversation so Liam could get closer to Zayn. He ended up walking home in silence while Liam and Zayn chatted next to him, but he didn't mind much. He wanted some time to be alone with his thoughts.

The past two days had been an exciting whirlwind for him. He'd spent a lot of time with Louis, and although there weren't any big indicators, he felt that Louis was somehow opening up more now, acting naturally and friendly around him. Plus, he'd slept both nights at Louis' house, and _cuddled_ Louis for those two nights. Harry didn't think there was any better place in the world than in Louis' arms. And, of course, this morning Louis had kissed him on the cheek. Granted, it was a dare and it didn't mean anything, but it seemed like so much progress to Harry and Harry would be lying if there wasn't a tiny spark of hope in his heart.

Also - how was Louis so cute? Harry had already known he was cute from seeing him at school, but Louis at home was another tier of cuteness. His fluffy hair sticking out everywhere, his glasses slipping off his nose, a big, happy grin on his face... Harry felt like the luckiest person in the world to be able to see the most adorable Louis in his natural habitat.

Liam and Zayn suddenly stopped walking, so Harry stopped too, looking around confusedly. 

"Well, this is my house," Zayn said. "Bye, guys."

"Bye!" Liam's tone was a little too enthusiastic and Harry cringed slightly.

"Bye, Zayn."

As Zayn disappeared into his house, Liam and Harry kept on walking, and Liam kept gushing about how awesome Zayn was and how Liam thought he had managed to become friends with him.

"He's so _dreamy_ ," Liam raved. "He looked so good even straight after waking up. He's a whole Greek god."

"Good for Zayn," Harry said, entertained by how lovesick his best friend looked. Then again - he was pretty sure that was what he looked like when he talked about Louis.

When he finally got home, he said hello to Anne and Gemma, then went upstairs to his room to unpack his bag. As he was unpacking, his phone's notification sound went off but he didn't think much about it, thinking it was probably just one of his friends texting him about something. After he'd unpacked everything and put his dirty clothes in the washing machine, he flopped onto his bed and checked his phone. He nearly had a heart attack when he saw the notification screen and quickly entered his password to answer the message.

_louis_ _❤︎: hey, harry! it was really fun having a sleepover with you and liam. thank you so much for the fun times! maybe we can do it again sometime? .xx_

Harry typed in his reply promptly and sent it without thinking, so high on the feeling of Louis texting him first that he didn't even overthink too much about his response.

_harry: thank YOU for the fun sleepover! and yeah, i'd really love to do it again :)_

Then, Harry decided that he had to send something else to keep the conversation going, or else Louis would just reply with a smiley face and their interaction would be over.

_harry: how did you get so good at FIFA anyway?_

He switched his phone off and lay down on his bed, holding his phone to his chest. Then he frowned - the sleepover had involved three other boys, yet Louis had sent that message to him individually, and not to the group chat they had made with the others. Maybe Louis sent individual texts to all of them? But - why not just get everything over with more efficiently and send it to the group chat?

That was weird. But Harry wasn't bothered about it for long when his phone's notification sound went off again. He turned his phone on again, smiling giddily at the thought of talking to Louis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please tell me if there are any specific things you'd like to see in the future! you're all also welcome to ask any questions you have about the story or characters, i'll try my best to answer :)
> 
> and of course, honest feedback is appreciated!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you might be pleased to hear that the sequel to "love me, please", which is basically the same story but told through louis' pov, is underway, as it's been my plan all along to write a sequel in louis' pov. however, i won't start publishing it until this book is finished, or else it would spoil the story (this story is purely from harry's perspective for a reason!).
> 
> i've realized that since this story is just harry's pov, you only see what he sees, so you guys don't know why louis does certain things unless louis tells harry, which might cause some confusion or frustration at louis' actions. louis will eventually explain himself but that will be at the end of the book, so if you have any questions now, please ask! i'd really love to help clear up any confusion you have, and it also helps me see what parts of the story i'm not making clear enough so i can improve my writing. i'll try my best to answer without spoiling the story :)
> 
> also this chapter sucks and i'm sorry, i was just winging it as i wrote so it's an extremely crappy filler

Harry may or may not have spent the entire weekend holed up in his room, texting Louis.

Okay, not the _entire_ weekend. After all, he'd promised his mum he'd spend some more time with her, so he did spend a considerable amount of time playing board games and watching movies with Anne and Gemma, just chilling in their living room. It was so relaxing and fun to spend some quality time with his family, but at the same time Harry was aching to go back up to his room and grab his phone so he could continue texting Louis.

The texting came easier to Harry than the talking, and he knew it was probably easier for Louis too. It was less stressful and nerve-wracking if they weren't face to face, and less embarrassing and impulsive words spilled out of his mouth before he could stop them. He had time to properly think out his words or ask Liam for advice before he replied to Louis, resulting in a much more relaxed, friendly conversation that didn't end up with Harry cringing at himself.

The entire time he texted Louis, he had a wide grin on his face. He couldn't help it, curling up on his bed and smiling uncontrollably at his phone, blissfully chatting with Louis about everything under the sun. Louis told him about his instant fascination and love for FIFA and how he, Niall and Zayn had spent many of their weekends playing it, and Harry told him about how he'd become captain of the football team, and how their coach was kind but also a bit strict.

The conversation came naturally and Harry slowly stopped freaking out with every text he sent, being able to calm down a bit and enjoy talking to Louis like he enjoyed talking to any of his friends.

When Harry woke up on Monday morning, he had a bit of a runny nose, but he shrugged it off and started getting ready to school. After texting for the whole weekend, the last text Louis had sent him the night before was this:

_louis_ _❤︎: see you tomorrow at school_

Underneath that, Louis had also sent a sticker of the cutest puppy in a bow tie, smiling and winking. Harry read the message as he got ready, ecstatic that they'd had such fun conversations in the past two days, but also anxious for when they'd see each other at school. When you text someone for the entire weekend, what do you do when you see them in person? What do you say? Harry was ready to get closer to Louis and be friendlier in person, but he was also worried that Louis would shrink away from him again.

Of course Harry hoped he wouldn't, but - he'd never really understood why Louis had been so standoffish in the first place, so who's saying it wouldn't happen again? Harry tried to shake his worries off. He should try to grasp onto the opportunity and become friends with Louis while he still had the chance, and not hold back because he was concerned Louis would become distant again.

As Harry arrived outside of his biology classroom, he saw that Louis and Niall were already there, chatting while they waited for Ms. Smith. Louis, as usual, was wearing a large over sized sweater, swallowing him up and hanging deliciously off his shoulders, showcasing his delicate collarbones, and Harry was practically salivating at the sight of Louis' collarbones.

He approached the pair cautiously, wondering if he should walk straight up to them and greet them, or if he should stand near them and wait for them to greet him, or if he shouldn't approach them at all. His dilemma was quickly solved for him, however, when Louis' eyes met his and Louis smiled brightly. "Hey, Harry!"

Harry's mouth fell open and he quickly stuttered out a greeting. "U-uhm, hey!"

"Hey, Harry, how's it going?" Niall's head whipped around and he gestured for Harry to come closer.

"It's going good, yeah." Harry slipped into the space between Louis and Niall, trying to pretend he wasn't currently panicking. No matter how many times he stood next to Louis, or even cuddled him, being in such close proximity with a blue-eyed angel always electrified him.

"I hear we're going to be dissecting flowers in bio today," Louis said, directing his words to both Harry and Niall. 

"Didn't we already do that a few years ago?" Harry tried to act natural, but he couldn't really remember what natural was.

"It's just an activity to introduce us to the new unit and go over all of the things we learned before." Louis' eyes were on Harry as he talked, and Harry tried his best to maintain eye contact without turning bright red.

"Well, at least dissecting flowers is much better than dissecting a frog." Niall shuddered. "That was gross and slimy."

"You didn't even do any dissecting, you made me do it all by myself!" The huffy expression on Louis' face made Harry want to keel over from the cuteness.

"Because it was gross!" Niall repeated. "Besides, you were perfectly able to dissect it by yourself."

"It was pair work." Louis put his hands on his hips and Harry was about to pass out.

"And I did my job as your partner by providing you with moral support!"

Louis rolled his eyes. He turned to look at Harry, with a "get a load of this idiot" look on his face, and Harry was unsure of what to do next, but luckily for him, at that moment Ms. Smith arrived and ushered them into the classroom. Harry walked in, sandwiched between Louis and Niall, but slowed his steps and stopped walking shortly after when he saw that the room had been rearranged a little, and his seat wasn't where it usually was.

Behind him, Louis cleared his throat. Harry swore he'd never get over the sound of Louis' little _ahem!_ , which must be one of the cutest sounds in the world. "Excuse me, Harry." Louis slid past Harry, brushing slightly against Harry's side, and Harry felt goosebumps appear on his arms.

"I think one of the clubs used our classroom last week, so the tables are a little messed up," Ms. Smith said. "Harry, you can just push your table back to its normal position."

"Okay, miss." Harry, along with the help of his lab partner, Dylan, pushed the table back to its original position and sat down, waiting patiently for Ms. Smith to start the lesson.

After the lesson had ended, Harry was slipping his notebooks and textbooks back into his bag as the rest of the class slowly filtered out of the classroom and moving onto their next classes. Harry was about to sling his bag over his shoulder and leave himself when Louis advanced towards his desk, with Niall close behind. 

"Hey, Harry, um... see you at lunch." Louis was playing with his sweater paws bashfully, a shy smile gracing his face and his cheeks tinged pink.

"Lunch?" 

"We have a meeting for the decorating team, right?" Louis tilted his head quizzically, making him resemble a confused puppy.

"Oh! Uh, yeah, see you at lunch, then. Bye, guys." Harry mentally slapped himself for being forgetful, and waved goodbye to Louis and Niall as they disappeared out of the classroom.

As soon as Harry saw Liam at math, he relayed all of the morning's events to his best friend.

"Well, good for Louis! He seems to be coming out of his shell," Liam said as he flipped open his textbook.

"Does that mean he's not going to ignore me anymore?"

"Harry, he deliberately came up to you to say goodbye. Doesn't seem like something a person who's avoiding you would do."

"So... Louis actually wants to be friends with me?"

"Seems like it."

Harry pumped his fist and did a tiny little dance in his chair, beaming excitedly.

"No pressure, Harry, but now that Louis is actively trying to be friends with you, you better not mess this up, or else you and Louis are doomed forever."

Harry stopped dancing and glared at Liam. "Thanks a lot, Li."

"Just saying," Liam shrugged. "I know what you're like. You're going to freak out over every little thing, and that might lead to you accidentally screwing up. So, you know, relax a little."

"You know I can't do that."

"Well, _try_. I didn't listen to you ramble on and on about Louis just for you two to not get together." Liam patted Harry's back. "Besides, you've dated before, and you're the most popular person in our year. It really can't be that hard."

"I told you, Louis is -"

"Different, yeah, yeah." Liam pulled out a pen and tapped it on the table as his eyes scanned over a math problem. "Let's hope your so-called boyish charm, or whatever the girls say you have, will distract Louis from your overall weirdness."

"Mm." Harry glanced at the whiteboard to see which page of the textbook he was supposed to be on. "Let's hope. By the way, I forgot I had a decorating team meeting at lunch, so I won't be eating with you today."

"Oh, okay." Liam stopped writing in his notebook and glanced up. "Wait, Zayn is in the decorating team with you and Louis, right?"

"Um... yeah? Wait, yeah, yeah he is."

"Okay." Liam coughed. "Tell me if he mentions me, alright? And-and don't say anything embarrassing about me in front of him."

Harry smirked. "You're just as gone for Zayn as I am for Louis."

"Shut up," Liam mumbled, although his blushing gave him away.

"Don't worry, I won't embarrass you in front of Zayn... probably." Harry picked up his pen and opened his notebook. "Although I think _I'll_ probably embarrass myself in front of Zayn and Louis."

"I told you, just relax and calm down a bit! You can do this... probably," Liam said, mocking Harry's words.

"How inspirational. Thank you so much for believing in me," Harry said sarcastically.

"You're welcome. Now, shush, we're supposed to complete these problems before the end of the lesson."

During lunch, Harry ran down to the canteen to get himself a sandwich, which he wolfed down on the way to Mrs. Dewberry's room. The only was about to start when he got there, and everyone was already seated. Harry looked around the room, trying to figure out where he should sit, when a soft voice and tiny hand caught his attention.

"Harry! Over here!" Louis waved him over, pointing to the seat next to him at the front of the room, which had Louis' schoolbag sitting on it. Louis put his bag on his lap, and Harry's heart melted when he realized that _Louis had saved a seat for him_.

"Thanks, Lou." The nickname slipped out of Harry's mouth as he sat down, saying quick hellos to Louis and Zayn, who was sitting on Louis' other side.

"Well, Harry, you made it just in time! Our meeting's about to start." Mrs. Dewberry stood up from her desk. "As you all know, we successfully finished decorating Mr. Turner's room, and he's very pleased with it, so great work, guys!"

There were a few whoops and cheers from the room.

"For our next project, the librarians want a little help decorating the library," Mrs. Dewberry explained. "Nothing too big or fancy, but they'd like little posters and infographics to help get students more interested in reading and learning, so we'll be doing just that. They've sent me some ideas for books you can make posters about."

Julie raised her hand. "Can we choose the books we make posters about?"

"Yes, but check with me and make sure they're available in the library first." Mrs. Dewberry sat down again, and pulled up an email, which showed up on the projector screen. "Here's a list of the books the librarians suggested. You guys can pick one from the list or choose another book, and make some sort of advertisement poster to get people interested in reading it."

"Isn't that like some sort of English project we do in third grade?" Emily said from the back of the room.

"Well, yes, but it's simple and it'll be beneficial to the library," Mrs. Dewberry said. "This will be our project for the week, I think you'll be able to do it pretty fast. We'll have another meeting on Friday where I'll collect your posters."

"Do we do it individually, or in pairs, or in groups?" Harry asked. "And do we have to draw it? I'm awful at drawing, so..."

"Good question, Harry. I don't really mind much. You can do it yourself, or with a friend, and of course you can do it digitally if you want to. It's just a simple project. Now, if you guys don't have any other questions, pick your book and come up here to tell me which one you're doing, so we won't have overlaps."

Harry was scanning the list of books, trying to find one he'd read before and would actually enjoy making a poster about, when someone poked his arm. Harry turned to look at Louis, who stuttered out, "U-uhm, which book are you going t-to do?"

"Oh, uh, I'm not really sure yet, I haven't read a lot of books on the list. Which one are you going to do?"

"Well, it does kinda make sense that you don't know a lot of the books, the library would want to advertise the lesser-known books and not the ones everyone's read." Louis brushed his bangs out of his face. "As for me, I, uh, read _Walls Within Walls_ and it wasn't too bad, so maybe I'll do that one."

"Cool, cool, cool. How about you, Zayn?"

" _The Fall of Icarus_ , maybe. I'm not really sure either," Zayn said. "Are you guys going to draw the poster? I am."

"Of course you are, you're brilliant at drawing." Louis pouted and Harry wanted to squish his cheeks so bad. "But I can't draw, so I'm definitely doing it digitally. What are you going to do, Harry?"

Harry snapped out of staring at Louis' pout and answered, "Oh, um, same with you I guess."

"Boys!" Mrs. Dewberry said in a sing-song tone, "Chat after you've chosen a book, please. At this rate you won't be able to do the book you want to. Louis, dear, you go first. Come on up here and tell me which book you want to do."

"Okay." Louis got out of his seat and slipped past Harry, brushing against his back. It was the second time Harry had accidentally touched Louis in one day, and his body was on fire. That, along with the fact that Louis was suddenly being really friendly, convinced Harry that he must have done a really good deed, and now karma was blessing him with one of the best days of his life.

In history, they were finally going to go back to working on their group project, and Harry was euphoric at the idea of being able to work with Louis again. Of course, it was terrifying at the same time, but at least Harry had Liam with him.

"Alright, since quite a bit of time has lapsed since you guys last worked on your project, we're going to go over the project again," Mr. Anderson said as everyone sat down in their seats. "It'll only be fifteen minutes, tops. Then I'll give you time to get together with your group mates and sort yourselves out. Remember, you'll have to do your project by yourselves outside of school, so schedule meetings with your group mates!"

After Mr. Anderson went over the requirements of the project and explained what he expected from the class, he let them work on their projects. Harry, Liam and Louis gathered around a table together, sitting silently for a bit before Harry said awkwardly, "Um, so what do we do now?"

"We can go over all of the work we've already done, I guess," Louis proposed. "Uh, we had a checklist of things we've done and things we still need to do... right?" Louis' voice trailed off, unsure, when Liam and Harry both looked confused.

"Oh! Wait, I remember now," Liam said suddenly. "Yeah, I think I wrote the checklist down in my notebook. It's in my bag, I'll get it." Liam pulled out his notebook, which indeed possessed their checklist, and flipped it open to the right page. "Here it is."

Harry leaned over Liam's shoulder to peek at the list. "Okay, so we've finished our preliminary research, the outline of our project, and we've finished the two parts..."

They went over the checklist, asked Mr. Anderson how many lessons they could work on the project, and finally figured out how many times they'd have to meet up outside of school to finish their project on time. They wrote their plan and schedule down in Liam's notebook again, and Louis pulled his phone out to snap a picture.

"Oh, uh, can you send that to me?" Harry requested. When Louis tilted his head for the second time that day, making Harry's heart melt, Harry explained, "You've already taken the picture, and I'm not bothered to take my phone out."

"Oh, okay, sure." Louis opened up his and Harry's chat and sent him the picture, and Harry felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

"Thanks!" Harry flashed Louis a thumbs up.

"No problem." Louis was about to turn off his phone and put it back in his pocket when Harry's contact name in Louis' phone caught Harry's eye.

"Wait, you have me saved as 'haribo'?" Harry leaned over so he could have a better view of Louis' phone. At the top of Louis' screen, Harry's contact name was indeed 'haribo', underneath a picture of Larry the teddy bear.

Louis' face was so red that Harry thought he might explode. "U-uh, yeah, it's just a, uh, nickname, I'll change it if you want -"

"No, don't! I like it." Harry's heart warmed at the thought of Louis having a nickname for him. "It's cute."

"Oh, um, good." Louis put his phone back into his pocket, suddenly becoming shy again.

A few seconds lapsed before Liam cleared his throat and said, "We still have fifteen minutes of class left, we can get started on the next part of our project."

"Oh! Um, yeah, of course." Louis took his laptop out of his bag and Harry did the same, setting his laptop on the table and powering it on. As they worked, Harry glanced over at Louis a few times, cooing at how his cheeks were still flushed pink.

_Haribo_. This boy was too adorable for his own good.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> since a lot of people have asked, i update on the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th of each month (it's easier for me to keep track of). and yes, i will continue updating until the story is finished!
> 
> also, a HUGE thank you to everyone that comments! i know i don't really reply to your comments (saying "thank you" to every comment gets a little repetitive) but i do read all of them and they really motivate me to keep writing! so thank you so much :)
> 
> another sucky chapter but oh well

Harry had all of their history project meet-up dates burned into his brain.

He didn't remember ever remembering dates so seriously before, but he'd put all the dates in his phone's calendar in big, bold letters, although he didn't really need that because he'd memorized it all. It was really such a useless thing to do, but Harry had done it without realizing it, and now he was subconsciously planning everything around those dates. When he'd do a face mask, when he'd go to the gym, when he'd go to bed to make sure he looked awake the next day. Again, it was so juvenile, but Harry obsessed over the little things. Plus, he wanted to look his very best for Louis, always.

Because they each had different activities and duties to do and were occupied at different times, they'd had to make a few compromises to be able to complete their project according to their schedule. One of their meet-ups fell on a day that also happened to be footie practice, which Harry and Liam had decided not to excuse themselves from since they were the captain and vice captain of the team.

Footie practice was after school, and they'd decided to work on their project in the library after footie, which meant that Louis had to wait quite a bit.

"Sorry you have to wait an hour and a half for us," Harry apologized, grabbing his football kit from his locker. "You'll be alright?"

"Mhmm." Louis showed them the copy of _Walls Within Walls_ he'd borrowed from the library. "It's alright. I'm going to work on my poster for the decoration team."

"You're going to be in the library, then?" Liam slung his kit over his shoulder.

Louis thought for a bit, then said, "I think I'll sit on the bleachers, so I can watch you guys practice if I get bored."

"You sure?" Harry turned a little pale. If Louis would be watching their practice, it would the most stressful football practice he'd ever had.

Louis nodded. 

"Well, we've got to get changed for practice. See you later, Louis!" Liam grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him away.

"Bye bye!" Louis waved goodbye to them and was soon swallowed up by the sea of students preparing to leave the campus.

As soon as Louis was out of earshot, Liam nudged Harry. "Looks like Louis is going to watch our practice. How are you feeling about that, captain?"

Harry groaned. "This is terrible. I'm going to trip and fall and make a fool of myself."

"You're good at football, you're literally the captain of the team. It's your time to shine and show off your football skills!"

"Yeah, right. You know the stress of Louis being there will rid me of my footie skills."

"Mm."

Harry glared at Liam. "Very encouraging."

"Oh, come on. Just pretend he isn't there."

It was really, really hard to pretend Louis wasn't there. When Harry walked onto the pitch, he immediately saw that Louis was indeed sitting on the bleachers with his laptop and his book. Luckily, he wasn't sitting _too_ close to the pitch, but he could still probably see everything that Harry did. They made eye contact and Louis waved hello, hunching his shoulders up and giving Harry the cutest smile, and Harry wondered if his teammates would judge him too much if he fainted right there on the grass.

For most of the practice, Louis was occupied with making his poster, eyes either on his laptop or on his book, barely ever glancing over at Harry and his team. This was a big relief for Harry, who kept looking over at Louis every few minutes, but managed to mostly act normal and practice with his team like he normally did.

Unfortunately for him, during the last fifteen minutes, Louis had apparently finished his poster and had put his laptop and book away, and was now resting his chin on his hands and watching the practice. Harry's eyes met Louis' and he stumbled in surprise, accidentally tripping over his own feet and slamming into the floor.

"Ow..." None of his teammates paid him much attention except for a few glances - they were used to him falling over by now - but he could hear Liam chuckle, and Ricky came over to help him up.

"You okay, H?"

"Yeah, thanks, Rick." Harry took Ricky's hand and Ricky pulled him up. Harry tried to brush some of the grass off his clothes and examined his knees and elbows, sighing in relief when he saw he wasn't physically injured, although his dignity had suffered a fatal hit. He didn't dare look at Louis again, terrified that Louis was laughing at him, and that would be too much for Harry.

After practice, Harry didn't bother to change back into his regular clothes, but sprayed on some deodorant, because he was sweaty and grimy from all the running around, and he hoped Louis wouldn't be able to notice the smell.

Louis was waiting for them outside the changing rooms, a slightly concerned and very adorable look on his face. "Hey, Liam. Hey, Harry, are you okay? That fall looked pretty serious."

"Oh, uh, yeah! I'm fine, I just tripped a little." Was Louis really worried about Harry? That was cute.

"You sure? I have some bandages in my bag if you want them," Louis offered.

"It's alright, I'm totally fine." Harry smiled. "Thank you, though."

The three trooped into the library and found a table to sit at, pulling out their laptops, notebooks and textbooks. They'd each done a bit of work by themselves and they shared it with the rest of the group, compiling the information into their PowerPoint and going over the checklist. An hour and a half later, they'd finished their PowerPoint.

"Okay, so now we have to move on to making the model," Liam said, looking at the checklist. "We should be able to finish this in time, right?"

"It's due in a week, I think we can do it," Louis piped up, already taking out some paper to sketch the model. "It shouldn't be that hard, Mr. Anderson expects a really basic model. Plus, the PowerPoint is the most important part and we finished it already."

"Okay, good." Harry leaned over to have a peek at Louis' paper. "What's the model going to be of?"

"The battlefield." Louis pointed to a few of the reference pictures he had up on his laptop. "Just a really basic layout." Louis finished sketching out their model and drew little arrows and labels to show what materials they needed for each part of the model. They split the materials among themselves and agreed to bring the materials to their next meeting so they could build their model.

"So the next meeting is in two days and we're all bringing our materials, right?" Liam confirmed as they started to pack up.

"Yep!" Louis nodded and his fringe bounced up and down. Harry was about to die. "I'll borrow some art tools from Zayn and my sisters."

"Good."

The sky was beginning to darken a little when they left the campus and it was getting a little chilly and foggy. They were about to take their usual path home, when Liam stopped walking and said, "My family's having dinner at the mall tonight, so I guess I won't be walking home with you guys."

"Oh." Harry raised his eyebrows when he realized this meant that he and Louis would be walking home together... alone. "Uh, okay."

"See you guys." Liam leaned in to pat Harry on the shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Good luck with Louis." When he pulled away, Liam had a giant evil smirk on his face, which didn't help at all to calm Harry's nerves.

"Bye bye!" Louis waved goodbye in the cutest way as Liam started walking in the opposite direction towards the mall. Then he turned around and started walking down the pavement and Harry followed him, stuffing his hands into his pockets and slowing down his pace a little to match Louis' steps.

They made small talk about various things and Harry applauded himself for being able to get through a conversation with Louis without voice cracking, but then he felt a few drops of water on his hand and he looked up at the sky. "Is it raining?"

Louis looked up too, and at that moment a few drops of water splashed onto his face. "Um, I think so."

"Damn it, I didn't bring my umbrella," Harry said, rifling through his bag. "Did you?"

Louis shook his head. "No, the weather forecast didn't say it would rain today."

"Looks like it is." Harry zipped up his bag. "Let's get going before -" Suddenly, it started pouring and Harry finished his sentence with a rather grumpy tone. "- before it gets heavy."

Louis made a sad noise. "My books just got soaked in the storm, I don't want them to get wet _again_."

"Well, come on, then!" Harry grabbed Louis' wrist without thinking and the two tore down the pavement, passing by several startled, umbrella-possessing people as their heavy footsteps splashed into several puddles. When they reached Louis' house, they huddled together on the front porch, where there was shelter above them. They were both soaked to the bone and their hair was plastered to their foreheads, which made Louis look so tiny but Harry was sure he probably looked like a drowned rat.

"Do you wanna come in and wait until it stops raining?" Louis suggested, trying to wipe the water off his glasses.

"Um..." Harry had already intruded on the Tomlinsons several times, and he didn't want to bother them another time. "No, it's alright. I don't live too far away."

"You sure?" Louis asked anxiously. "I-it's not good for you to run in the rain."

"I'll be alright. Thanks for the offer, though!" Harry took a step towards the front steps. "Bye, Louis."

"Bye, Harry." Louis opened the door to his house and shivered as the cool air conditioning hit his soaked skin.

*****

When Harry woke up the next day, his entire body ached, his face was burning and he had a massive headache. "Mum!"

Anne came in armed with a thermometer and several boxes of medicine she'd randomly grabbed from the medicine cabinet. After a few minutes, she determined that Harry had a fever. "You've been caught in the rain too many times, you naughty boy. You should have an umbrella in your bag all the time."

Harry pouted. "Not my fault. 's the rain's fault."

"Mhmm." Anne took out a fever relief patch and smoothed it over Harry's forehead. "Still, bring an umbrella every day."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Anyway, you can't go to school today. I'll call in sick for you." Anne examined the boxes of medicine she'd brought. "And you have to take your medicine."

"Yay." Harry's voice was a bit croaky. At least he had a day off from school, although he really didn't have anything fun to do since he'd be confined to his bed for most of the day anyway.

"I'll make some porridge for you and you can have that with your medicine. Do you know the school's phone number?"

"You wrote it down on the sticky note stuck on the landline." 

"Ah, yes. Okay then, sit tight, dear. I'll be back soon."

Harry spent most of his day trying to sleep his fever off and swallowing a bunch of medicine that tasted awful. It warmed his heart a little when he got a text from Louis asking where he was, and when Harry texted back that he had a fever, Louis sent him a frowning kitten and said that he hoped Harry would get better soon.

Some time in the afternoon, Gemma knocked on his door. "Harry, are you decent?"

"Uh..." Harry looked down at himself. The fever had made his entire body temperature go up so he'd taken his shirt off and was currently only in his shorts, but it wasn't like Gemma wasn't used to Harry being shirtless. He wasn't _decent_ , exactly, but decent enough for his sister. "Yeah."

"Okay, good." Gemma opened the door. "You have a guest."

"Hi, Harry."

The familiar raspy voice made Harry sit up immediately, eyes widening as he stared at Louis, who let out an endearing squeak, standing in Harry's room with a container in his hand, face very red and _looking at Harry's bare chest_.

Harry scrambled to cover his torso with his blanket. "Gemma! I'm not decent! Why'd you open the door?"

"You just _said_ you were decent!" Gemma rolled her eyes. "And it's not like you're naked."

"Um, should I leave?" Louis looked terrified.

"Uh, no, don't, it's alright. I'll just, uh, put on a shirt." Harry tried to slide over to his closet as best as he could with a blanket wrapped around him and a fever. He grabbed the first shirt he saw and slipped it on, trying to calm his flaming cheeks. "Gems, next time _tell me_ if you're bringing a guest into my room." He looked like a mess - unruly hair, snotty nose, and tired eyes. He really wished Louis wasn't here to see him in such a bad state.

"Yes, yes, of course." Gemma nudged Louis forward a little. "Have fun, you two!" She closed the door behind her and left the two of them awkwardly standing there.

"So, um, Louis." Harry cleared his throat and sat back down on his bed because he was getting dizzy. "Sorry about that. What are you doing here?"

"Y-you said you were sick so I made you some soup." Louis thrust out the container to Harry and the liquid sloshed around inside. "I thought it might make you feel better. O-of course, you don't have to drink it, because some people don't like soup, and sometimes soup doesn't make sick people feel better, and maybe you're allergic to -"

"Hey, hey," Harry interrupted, taking the soup from Louis and setting it on his nightstand. "Calm down there, cowboy."

Louis' cheeks deepened in their color. "Anyway, uh, I thought you might want some soup so I made some for you."

"Aw, Louis, that's really sweet." Harry thought he might melt at how cute and charming Louis was. "Thank you so much, you really didn't have to do this."

"The girls send their love too." Louis pointed at the Post-It note stuck onto the top of the container, which had "Get Well Soon!" written on it and the signatures of all Louis' siblings, his mum and Louis himself, plus a few doodles on the corners of the note. Louis' signature had a little heart next to it and Harry's heart was about to burst.

"Aww, this is too cute. I'd hug you right now if I didn't have a fever. Um, do you wanna sit down? You can sit on my bed."

Louis sat down gingerly on the end of Harry's bed. "Daisy told me to tell you that her secret to getting better soon is to sleep a lot and Mum said that we should both remember to bring our umbrellas now."

Harry laughed. "That's what my mum said, too."

"Uh, I thought you might want some company, so I brought Scrabble with me." Louis pulled out the board game from his bag. "U-unless you don't want to play?"

"I'll play, I'll play." Harry sat up a little straighter. "I'm not very good, though."

"You are! You won when we played at the sleepover." Louis took the game out of the packaging and laid it out on Harry's bed.

" _We_ won. And that was only because we were playing as a team and I had your help," Harry reminded. "You were the reason we won."

"No, you were the main reason we won," Louis insisted. "Anyway, c'mon, let's play!" They chatted a little while they played, although they were still recovering from the shyness and embarrassment of Harry being shirtless earlier. "So, um, do you think you'll get better for our meeting?" Louis placed his first word on the board.

"I hope so. It's really nothing serious."

"Not that you have to or anything," Louis said quickly. "You've done a lot for the project already, I think me and Liam will probably be able to do the model without you."

"Nah, you're the one who's done the most for the project. Liam and I are just riding on your coattails." Harry squinted at Louis' word and then looked at his own tiles. "By the way, did you finish your poster?"

"Poster?"

"For the decoration team. The library poster?"

"Oh, um, yeah! I finished it while I was waiting for you guys yesterday."

"Ugh, good for you. I haven't started mine yet." Harry placed his word on the board.

Louis tilted his head. "Really? It's due at the end of the week though, plus we have to work on our model."

"Mhmm, I know." Harry stretched. "I'll get it done."

"You shouldn't stress yourself too much, though, you're still sick," Louis said cautiously.

"I actually feel a lot better than I did this morning, actually. The medicine really helped." Harry's eyes lit up as he remembered what time it was. "Oh! Which reminds me, I need to take my medicine." He grabbed the pills from his nightstand and reached out for his glass of water, but groaned when he saw the glass was empty. "Crap."

"I can go get some water for you," Louis volunteered. 

"You don't have to -"

"It's alright, I'll do it," Louis said good-naturedly. "I'll be back in a minute!" True to his word, Louis returned a minute later with a glass full of water, trying to walk slowly so the water wouldn't spill. "Here you go."

Harry took the glass from Louis and smiled. "Thanks, Lou."

Halfway through the game, Louis suddenly blurted out, "Um, I hope I'm not bothering you."

It caught Harry a little off guard. "You're not bothering me," Harry reassured him. "It's actually really nice of you to come and bring me soup and keep me company for a bit, not even Liam did that and he's my best friend."

"I'm sure he only didn't come see you because he's busy," Louis said, eyebrows furrowing as he totaled their points.

"Mm." Harry tried to discreetly stare at Louis, because the face he was making was absolutely adorable. "Who won, then?"

"Me!" A huge beam spread over Louis' face and he clapped his hands happily. "I won!"

Harry couldn't help grinning, even though he'd lost. "Congratulations! I told you I'm awful at Scrabble."

"You were only five points behind me, though," Louis said, showing Harry the total scores. "So you _are_ good at Scrabble! Or we both suck."

"I'll take the former, it's a great ego boost."

Louis giggled and checked his phone, pulling a face when he saw a text message. "Um, my mum says I have to go home now."

"Oh." Harry felt his grin waver. He didn't really want Louis to go. "Okay. Thank you for coming, though! And thank you for the soup."

Louis started packing up his Scrabble game and put it back into his bag. "Um, speaking of the soup, you can just reheat it in the microwave, the container's microwave-safe, or if you really want to you can pour it out into a saucepan to heat it up."

"Okay. Again, thank you so much for coming to visit me!" Harry started getting out of his bed, but stumbled and Louis quickly rushed to stable him, grabbing Harry's arm. Harry blushed at Louis' touch, and said, "Um, I'll walk you to the front door?"

"No, no, you should stay in bed, you're sick." Louis helped Harry sit back down again and slung his bag over his shoulder. "I can show myself out."

"But -" Harry sighed, realizing Louis was probably right, and admitted defeat. "Bye, Louis."

"Bye bye!" Louis opened the door and stepped out. "I hope you get better soon!" He closed the door behind him and Harry slumped into his sheets. He heard the front door close a few seconds later and tried his best to peek out of the window, watching as Louis walked back home.

Harry felt much better than he had before Louis had come to visit him. Maybe it was because of the medicine, or maybe it was because of Louis and his cuteness and sweetness. He reached over and picked up the container of soup on his nightstand, and he couldn't help cooing at the adorable note stuck to the top. The best medicine was love and laughter, after all.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a warning, school has started for me now so i will be more busy and occupied, i'll try my best to stick to my updating schedule and update on time, but i might occasionally publish a day late, sorry!
> 
> i know i say this for every chapter but i feel like all of my recent chapters have been subpar, this chapter does kind of suck, i wrote it in a hurry and it's not as cute as i wanted it to be

Harry made a remarkably fast recovery from his fever after Louis' visit, which may or may not have been because Harry spent his time grinning giddily at the Tomlinsons' cute note, drinking the delicious soup Louis had made for him, and dreaming about Louis in his sleep. Harry wasn't a medical expert.

Whatever the reason, Harry recovered in time for their next history project meeting, walking into the library after school with armfuls of paper, cardboard, clay and Styrofoam. Louis and Liam were already there, spreading newspaper over one the library's biggest tables so they wouldn't get any paint on the table itself.

Harry walked towards them, saying hello to the librarian, Ms. Bailey, and setting all of his materials down on the table when he reached the other two boys. "Hey, guys."

"Hello, Haribo," Louis said, automatically slapping his hand over his mouth when he realized what he'd called Harry. "Um, I mean, uh, sorry, Harry."

Harry swooned at being called such a cute nickname by such a cute boy, swooning even more when he saw how adorable Louis looked when he was embarrassed. "It's alright, Louis, don't worry about it. It's a cute nickname." Feeling brave all of a sudden, he added, "Although, if you have a nickname for me, it also means I have to have one for you."

Louis blinked at him and Harry feared he'd just made a terrible mistake, but sighed in relief when Louis smiled and said, "Okay!"

Harry scratched his head. Now he had to think of a nickname. The first thing he associated Haribo with were the golden bears that acted as the candy company's mascot, and he associated Louis the Larry the teddy bear, the soft, fluffy bear Harry had won for him at the arcade. "I'll call you... Loubear."

A soft blush coated Louis' cheeks. "Loubear?"

Harry nodded. "You okay with it?"

"More than okay with it."

They smiled foolishly at each other for a few seconds, Liam looking practically scandalized between them. "Ahem!"

Both Louis and Harry spun around to look at Liam, who glared at them.

"What?"

"Can we get to work now, please? This model is due in a few days." Liam picked up a few materials that Harry had lay down on the table. "Louis, where's your sketch?"

"It's in my bag, I'll get it," Louis said, looking a little sheepish as he leaned down to grab the paper from his bag and slid the paper onto the table towards Liam. "Here you go. Okay, let's get started."

They got to work tracing and cutting out shapes on cardboard while Liam molded the clay. Louis hummed while he worked, humming the theme songs of several children's shows. Even though he was only humming, Harry thought Louis' voice sounded beautiful, and he was endeared by how Louis would bop or sway his head to whatever tune he was humming.

"Is that the _Doc McStuffins_ theme?" Harry asked when he heard a familiar melody emit from Louis' lips.

Louis stopped humming and furrowed his eyebrows. "Is it?" He hummed the line again, perking up when he recognized it. "Oh, yeah! It is."

"It's a nice song and a nice show," Harry commented, ignoring the fact that it was a children's show.

"Mhmm. I watch it a lot with my sisters, it's pretty entertaining even for a big old teenager like me," Louis said, eyes still on the piece of cardboard he was currently carving with an Exacto knife.

"I think I've watched a few times when I went to my cousin's house or when I was flipping through channels." Harry narrowly avoided cutting his own finger off as he immersed himself into talking to Louis.

"Mm." Louis was concentrated on the cardboard and he didn't seem very into his and Harry's conversation, so Harry gave up and got back to cutting. It would probably be wiser to focus on completing their model instead of focusing on trying to make small talk with Louis, anyway.

They worked on their model until they were the only students left in the library and Ms. Bailey had to kick them out at the library's closing time. "Come on, boys, pack your things up," she called from her desk, standing up to tidy her own things up herself. "You guys can continue your hard work on another day, or go somewhere else. The library's closing."

"Okay, Ms. B." Harry rubbed his eyes, tired from concentrating on cutting and sticking things for hours. "We'll be out of your hair in a few minutes."

They packed up all of their finished pieces into a big plastic box Louis had brought, threw away useless bits of material, and folded up the clean newspapers so they could use them later on. As they packed, Louis went over the pieces they'd completed and said, "Okay, we finished the base and everything, we're almost done... now all that's left is the individual pieces. We can make them individually and then glue them onto the board the next time we meet up, then the model will be pretty much done."

"Let's split the materials, then."

They spent another five minutes figuring everything out and splitting things up among the three of them before they finished packing up and filed out of the library, saying their goodbyes to Ms. Bailey on their way to the front door.

"I won't be walking home with you guys again, my family's eating out again," Liam said as they exited the school campus and stood outside the gates.

"Again?!" Harry whisper-screamed, still terrified of being left alone with Louis.

Liam gave Harry a brief, knowing grin. "The kitchen's being renovated, we won't be eating at home for a week or two."

"See you at school tomorrow, then." Louis was carrying the box of completed model pieces in his arms, and his eyes were droopy. Harry thought he looked absolutely adorable with his soft hair, sleepy eyes, and oversized hoodie. "Harry, can we take the bus? 'M tired and I'm holding this big box."

"Of course." Harry held his hands out. "Do you want me to carry the box for you?"

Louis shook his head. "No, it's alright. Look, the bus is coming."

Sure enough, the bus was rumbling down the road, so Louis and Harry said goodbye to Liam and got onto the bus, paying their fare and sitting down next to each other. The sky had turned a deep shade of cerulean blue and Harry felt himself relaxed as he relaxed his weary body in the seat. Louis sat beside him, the plastic box in his lap and his schoolbag placed on top of the box. The bus set off and they were silent, both too tired to make conversation.

Harry was staring out of the window, watching the trees and buildings fly past, when there was suddenly a warm weight on his shoulder. Startled, he turned his head to see what it was, heart rabbiting in his chest when he recognized the mop of fluffy brown hair resting on his shoulder.

_Louis had fallen asleep on his shoulder._

What was Harry supposed to do? He was suddenly wide awake and aware of everything going on around, trying not to move too much so he wouldn't wake Louis up while he panicked in his seat. He resisted the overwhelming urge to put his arm around Louis and cuddle him closer, which was incredibly difficult because Louis' body was warm against him and the hoodie he was wearing was so soft and made him so cuddly.

The bus was relatively empty and none of the passengers were looking at them, which made Harry relax a little, but he was still a little tense for the rest of the ride, trying to discreetly watching Louis sleep and making sure Louis' bag and box didn't slide off his lap.

When they were about to arrive at their stop, Harry fidgeted nervously, knowing he was supposed to wake Louis up but fearing Louis' reaction. _Come on, Harry,_ he told himself, _Just do it. You have to do it anyway, are you going to leave Louis asleep on the bus?_ They were about to turn the corner and arrive at their stop when Harry finally gathered the courage and shook Louis awake. "Louis. Louuuis. Loubear?"

Louis' eyes fluttered open slowly and Louis' eyebrows furrowed cutely as he tried to figure out what was happening. "Hmm?"

"Lou, we're nearly at our stop. We need to get off the bus," Harry said softly.

Louis' eyes suddenly shot wide open and he sat up speedily, staring at Harry. "Oh my God. D-did I fall asleep on your shoulder?"

"Uh, yeah?"

Louis turned a bright shade of beet red just as the bus arrived at their stop and the door opened. They got up and shuffled out of the door, standing awkwardly at the bus stop as the bus drove away.

"S-sorry I slept on your shoulder," Louis stuttered, blush still visible on his cheeks in the semi-dark. "I didn't meant to, I was just really t-tired."

"It's alright, Loubear." Louis' cheeks deepened in their color even more at the sound of the nickname. "Don't worry, I don't mind."

"Mm." They started walking towards Louis' house. "I've just been sleeping later lately, schoolwork and babysitting are taking its toll on me."

"Don't you have a babysitter that helps out?"

"She's got some really important things going on at uni or something, anyway she won't be helping me babysit for two weeks and Mum wasn't bothered to hire another babysitter so I'm in charge of them for these two weeks." They arrived outside Louis' doorstep and stood on the porch.

"I can come help you babysit if you want sometimes," Harry offered. "We're going to be finishing our history project soon so I'll have a bit more free time, and I love your sisters."

"Really?" Louis brightened up and Harry felt so proud of himself. "That would be really helpful."

Harry started walking down the porch, stomach growling a little because it was late and he hadn't eaten in hours. "I'd be glad to help out, you can text me or tell me whenever you need me."

Louis lifted his small hand up to wave goodbye. "Okay, I will. Bye, Haribo."

"Bye bye, Loubear."

*****

A few days later, they handed in their history project after a last minute panic because some of the glue hadn't dried and one of Liam's pieces had fallen apart and needed emergency fixing. They scrambled to repair their model but managed to hand it in on time at the end of the lesson along with their presentation, which they'd be presenting in their next lesson.

Harry was relieved that the project was mostly over and all that was left was to present it to the class, but he also felt a bit sad now that his main excuse to spend time with Louis was gone. Luckily for him, though, on the same day Louis asked Harry to babysit with him.

As they were leaving their history classroom, Louis ran up to Harry and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, Harry. I'm going to take you up on your offer, do you think you can come over and help me babysit today after school? Mum's working late today and it would be really helpful if you came."

Harry agreed immediately without thinking if he had anything to do in the afternoon. He'd cancel all of his plans for Louis. "Sure! I'll meet you at the gates after school?"

"Okay, great." Louis gave him the cutest smile. "See you!"

When his last class ended, Harry dutifully made his way to the school gates, where Louis was already waiting for him. They walked back to Louis' house together, their hands brushing dangerously close and sending shivers up Harry's spine every time they accidentally touched.

As soon as they stepped foot into Louis' house, there was a loud screech of, "Louuu!"

"Hey, girls, I'm home!" Louis locked the door and slipped off his shoes, with Harry following his example.

Four heads popped up from the couch, where the girls had been watching some television to keep themselves occupied while they waited for their brother to come home. Lottie tilted her head quizzically when she saw who was with her brother. "Why's Harry here?"

" 'arry?" Phoebe said excitedly.

"Hey, Phoebe." Harry waved at the little girl. "I'm here to help Louis babysit you munchkins."

"We don't _need_ babysitting!" Lottie protested. "I can take care of myself."

"Of course you can, Lotts. After you've finished that episode, no more TV for now," Louis said, pointing at the television. There were a few whines and groans from his sisters, but Louis ignored them and motioned for Harry to follow him up the stairs. "C'mon, Haribo, you can put your bag in my room."

"What do you and your sisters usually do after school?" Harry put his bag down next to Louis' desk and patted his pockets to make sure he still had his phone and wallet. "And what should I do?"

"Um, I usually let them watch some TV, we play some board games, sometimes we go out to the park playground to play, and I help them with their homework." Louis placed his bag down next to Harry's. "I think we're going to the playground today, so you can just play with them and make sure they don't get into trouble."

"Ooh, the playground sounds fun!" Harry remembered the time he'd seen Louis and his sisters at the park playground playing. "The twins like playing with you on the slide, right?"

"Mhmm." Louis squinted at him suspiciously. "How do you know?"

"Um..." Harry coughed when he realized Louis didn't _know_ he'd seen them at the park playing, when Harry and Liam had literally been hiding between a tree to watch them. Harry swore he wasn't creepy. "Lucky guess? Everyone likes slides, especially little kids."

"I guess so." Louis put his hand on the doorknob and opened the door. "Let's go see if their done watching TV, then we can go to the park."

The episode was over in a few minutes and Louis got them to change out of their school uniform into something more comfortable and warm. All six of them left the house, Lottie and Fizzy walking ahead of them by themselves while Harry and Louis each had a twin holding their hand, babbling on about their day. Harry couldn't help cooing at how cute they were, especially because their little mannerisms reminded him so much of Louis.

As soon as they got to the playground, Phoebe let go of Louis' hand and ran to the slide, chanting, "Spinnies!"

"No!" Daisy let go of Harry's hand and ran to the slide too. "I wanna go first!"

" _I'm_ going first!" Phoebe argued, climbing onto the slide. "I got here first, loser."

"Pheebs, don't call your sister that," Louis said, walking up to the slide and scolding his sister.

Phoebe huffed. "Sorry."

Harry ran after Daisy and held out his hand. "C'mon, you can play spinnies with me. There's another slide over there!"

Daisy took Harry's hand doubtfully. "Spinnies with Harry?"

"Yes! Come on, Dais." Harry led Daisy towards the other slide and Louis smiled at him gratefully, mouthing _Thanks_ , which Harry replied to by mouthing _No problem._

Lottie and Fizzy were on the swings already, and Louis called, "Be careful, girls, don't go too high! Harry and I are going to be at the slides."

"Okay, Lou!" the two girls chorused.

Daisy climbed up onto the slide and sat at the top, ready to slide down. Harry stood at the bottom of the slide, ready to perform a 'spinnie', which he already fully understood without Louis' explanation because he'd seen Louis playing the exact same game with his sisters months before.

"Come on, Daisy! Let's show Louis and Phoebe what a _fun_ spinnie looks like, huh?" Harry held his arms out and Daisy came hurtling down, and once she reached the bottom Harry picked her up and spun her 'round and 'round. Daisy shrieked happily, flailing her arms about before Harry set her back down on the ground again. "There, wasn't that fun?"

Daisy clapped her hands. "Harry spinnies are better than Lou's!"

"Heyyy!" Louis had evidently heard her and pretended to be offended, putting his hands on his hips. "I'm not giving you any more spinnies ever again, young lady."

"I'll ask Harry for spinnies, then!" Daisy proclaimed, puffing her chest out.

"Harry's only here for today, what are you going to do when we come to the playground next time, hmm?" Louis said, amused.

Daisy pouted up at Harry and tugged on his sleeve, making Harry laugh. "Come on, munchkin, let's stop insulting Louis' spinnies and go have some fun, okay?"

Harry and Louis gave the twins spinnies until their arms couldn't take it anymore and they retired to the grass, sitting under a tree and chatting lazily while they watched the four other girls and made sure none of them got hurt. At around five o' clock, Louis checked his watch and yawned. "We should probably go back home, I need to make dinner and the girls should get started on their homework."

"Okay." Harry got up and dusted his pants off, holding a hand out to Louis. "C'mon, Loubear."

Louis blushed and took Harry's hand, allowing himself to be pulled up. "Thanks, Haribo."

They gathered the girls and trooped back home, this time with Phoebe holding Harry's hand and Daisy holding Louis'. Fizzy was holding Louis' other hand while Lottie elected to not hold anyone's hand but stuck close to Louis, and the happy company made it back to Louis' house.

"If you have homework, get started on it," Louis ordered, and Lottie and Fizzy went back to their room to do their homework. Phoebe and Daisy, however, stayed where they were and looked up at Louis expectantly.

"We don't have homework, LouLou."

Louis glanced over at Harry. "Okay, you guys can play with Harry. I'm going to make dinner. Be good, you two."

The twins saluted Louis as Louis disappeared into the kitchen, and turned their attention to Harry. They had huge grins on their face and Harry was feeling a little weirded out, but squatted down and said, "So, what do you guys want to do?"

"Can we dress Harry up?" Phoebe asked hopefully, giving him her best puppy eyes and immediately melting his heart.

"O-okay, but I don't know if any of your clothes will fit me..." As soon as the twins heard Harry's affirmation, they squealed happily and grabbed his hands, dragging him upstairs to their room. They settled Harry down into a chair that was too short for him and told him to stay put while they got their supplies, giggling in a somewhat sinister way.

An hour later, when Louis called them down for dinner, Harry emerged from the twins' room looking slightly hideous. They had braided as much as Harry's hair as possible, which wasn't a big deal to him, but they'd stuck about half a dozen bows in his hair, which was about half a dozen bows too many. Jay hadn't allowed the twins to own nail polish yet, so they'd substituted painting Harry's nails with sticking a bunch of stickers on his nails and used some of their toy makeup to put some lip gloss on Harry.

Louis held back a laugh when he saw Harry, and Harry felt his face turn hot. "I look ridiculous, don't I?"

Louis walked closer to him. "Not really. You look nice, just a little too many bows." 

Louis was getting dangerously close now, and Harry could feel his heart speed up dramatically. Louis lifted his hand up and brought it close to Harry's face, making Harry hold his breath nervously. Louis gently took a few bows out of Harry's hair, getting on his tiptoes to reach the top of Harry's head, faces brushing so close that Harry thought he would pass out. He removed most of the bows and held the bows in his hand, but left one in Harry's hair and leaned up to adjust it.

Smiling softly up at Harry, Louis backed away a little to admire his work. "There. Perfect."


	22. Chapter 22

Harry was holding Louis' hand.

They were walking to school together side by side, and their hands were entwined, fingers tangled with each other. Harry looked down at the interlinked hands, heart warming at how small Louis' hand looked in his as he played with Louis' delicate little fingers. Louis squeezed Harry's hand in response and Harry looked up at him, feeling the breath leave his lungs when his eyes raked over the prettiest, softest, cutest boy to ever exist in the world.

"What are you looking at, silly?" Louis' voice was like music to Harry's ears, and he replied easily.

"You."

Louis laughed, a beautiful sound that reminded Harry of wind chimes. "I can see that. What I wanted to ask, Harry, is why are you looking at me? Is there something in my teeth?"

Harry shook his head. "No. 'm just looking at you because you're beautiful."

A soft pink coated Louis' cheeks and his reply wasn't in words; instead, he got onto his tiptoes and leaned towards Harry, faces so close that Harry could feel Louis breathing and Louis' lips ghosted his own and—

And then Harry woke up.

His eyes fluttered open and he was blushing with a giddy grin on his face, before he realized it had just been a dream and he hadn't actually held hands with Louis, nor had Louis been about to kiss him. It didn't stop him from blushing and imagining what holding Louis' hand would be like, though, and he could still feel Louis' hand in his. He wondered if their hands would fit so well with each other in real life, and hoped they would, even though he'd probably never be able to find out. His heart was still racing from the dream, a plethora of imagined situations with Louis popping up in his mind. Harry knew he was incredibly whipped for Louis if a simple dream had affected him so much. 

It had affected him so much that even though his alarm hadn't rung yet, Harry got out of bed and started getting ready for school twenty minutes early than he usually would, feeling like the dream had energized him. His bustling and movements had accidentally woken up Gemma and Anne, the former of which appeared in the kitchen doorway and glared at Harry, who was preparing to make breakfast. "Why are you making such a ruckus so early in the morning?"

Harry looked like a deer caught in headlights. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was being so noisy."

"Yeah, well, can it. I don't know how you can make so much noise by simply walking around the house." Gemma rubbed her eyes sleepily, still in her pajamas.

"Is Mum still asleep?"

"I don't think so, I think I saw her moving around in her room."

"Sorry," Harry said apologetically. "I'll make a big breakfast to make up for it."

"You better. Why are you up so early, anyway?"

"Umm..." Harry coughed. "I don't know. Just woke up early and didn't feel like going back to sleep, I guess."

"Mm." Gemma yawned, covering her mouth. "I'm going to go get ready, try to keep it down."

Harry saluted Gemma and hummed as he started preparing breakfast, taking a few eggs out of the fridge and having a look at what ingredients he had in the cupboard. While he cooked, his mind drifted back to the dream, cheeks immediately heating up a bit as he remembered it. He wished the dream would become a reality, although he was sure he'd never be able to survive holding hands with Louis, much less _kissing_ Louis. The only thing he could survive from his dream was walking to school with Louis, but he'd only done that a few times. He wished he could do it more.

Then it popped into his head - what was stopping him from walking to school with Louis? All he had to do was show up at Louis' doorstep when Louis left his house and walk with him. It wasn't the weirdest thing to do - Harry usually waited outside Liam's door every morning, and he'd often done the same to several of his other friends. He could wait for Louis and walk to school with him, no problem. Right?

Harry wolfed down his breakfast at an inhuman speed and was out of the door just as Gemma and Anne came down for breakfast, wanting to get to Louis' house as soon as possible in case Louis left early.

"Harry, why are you leaving so early? Is there something at school you need to be at?" Anne asked.

"Um, sort of. I'll see you after school, love you!" Harry called, slinging his bag over his shoulder and waving at his family, closing the door after both Anne and Gemma said _Love you_ back.

Soon enough, Harry was standing on Louis' front porch, hoping he didn't look creepy. There was a steady flow of people trickling past Louis' house, on their way to either school or work, and Harry hoped they didn't think he was being weird. He'd been standing outside Louis' door for the past five minutes, waiting for him to come out so they could walk to school together. Harry didn't want to ring the doorbell and disrupt the already busy household, so instead he opted to stand awkwardly on the porch, fidgeting with the bottom of his jacket.

He could hear moving and talking inside, and could faintly recognize the high-pitched voices of the twins and the warm, soothing voice of Jay. Harry wondered if he'd arrived too early - he could still hear the clinking of cutlery, and maybe the Tomlinsons were still eating breakfast. He checked his watch and got a little flustered when he realized he _was_ too early and Louis wouldn't be leaving his house for at least ten more minutes.

He walked up and down the street for a while until the Tomlinsons' door opened, quickly straightening his jacket as he waited for Louis to appear. Louis' four sisters streamed out of the door first, and Phoebe squealed when she saw him. " 'arry!"

"Hi, munchkin." Harry waved his fingers at her, eyes widening when Phoebe charged towards him and hugged his torso.

"Harry?" Louis walked down the front porch steps and gaped at the green-eyed boy. "What are you doing here?"

Harry's heart seized up, thinking that maybe this was a bad idea and Louis didn't want him here. "I just wanted to walk to school with you, unless you, uh, don't want me to."

"No, no, it's alright." Louis smiled softly, and the entire world seemed brighter and happier because of it. "Come on, then."

Harry and Louis lingered behind the rest of the Tomlinson siblings as they walked, in their own little bubble. Harry couldn't help glancing over at Louis' hand, itching to just reach out and tangle their fingers together, and forcing himself to look away before he could do something stupid like actually hold Louis' hand.

"So, um." Louis played with his sweater paws and Harry cooed internally. "I hear we're finally going to start a new unit in biology."

"Really? Did Ms. Smith say that? I don't remember." Harry hoped it didn't make him look like a student who didn't pay attention in class.

Louis shook his head. "She didn't, but Mr. Jamie, the teacher for the other bio class, said so. We just did a review quiz for this unit, so it makes sense that we're starting a new one, don't you think?"

"That's true, I'll be glad to be rid of the anatomy unit," Harry said, shivering. "I don't want to touch a dead frog ever again."

Louis tutted. "You and everyone else in the class are such babies. I thought you guys would be a bit braver than that."

"Hey!" Harry feigned hurt. "I thought you were nicer than that, Tomlinson."

Louis giggled and shoved Harry playfully, making Harry's heart skip a beat. "I'm just kidding, I remember you weren't that squeamish when we did our dissection."

"Well I couldn't afford to be, Dylan refused to help me at all and if I was being squeamish we would have never finished the dissection." Harry remembered that biology lesson, mainly because it had been the first time he'd talked to Louis. "I was taking ages to do it though, and Ms. Smith asked you to help me. Remember?"

"Mhmm. I don't think I knew you back then."

"Nope. That was the first time we spoke to each other." Harry remembered that day like it was yesterday. "It is a bit weird that our first encounter was over a dead frog, though."

Louis made a face. "Yeah. I'm grateful for that frog, though. I'm glad I met you."

Harry's heart melted. "I'm glad, too."

*****

True to Louis' word, they were finally wrapping up their anatomy unit in biology, which hopefully meant that Harry didn't need to touch another frog cadaver for at least until the next year. The rest of the class probably shared his sentiments, because there were a few whoops and cheers when Ms. Smith told them they'd be starting their microbiology unit.

"Guys, pipe down a little, I still have things to say," Ms. Smith said sternly. "As we're starting a new unit in class, you guys are going to have new lab partners and new seats."

The class murmured and shifted around - changing their partners and seats could be exciting or upsetting, depending on which route Ms. Smith decided to take. Harry rather liked his current lab partner, Dylan - they knew each other relatively well and although Dylan never helped in any dissection they had to do, Harry preferred him over some of the other people in his biology class.

"Because you're all mature young adults and I trust you guys, I'm going to allow you to choose your lab partners and seats this time," Ms. Smith announced, much to the delight of the class. "The only rule is that you have to find a new partner, I don't want you choosing the person I assigned to you at the beginning of the year, okay? I'll give you guys five minutes to sort yourselves out."

Harry picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder as the rest of the class mobilized slowly, saying goodbye to Dylan and scanning over the rest of the class. He could work with anyone, really, because he was friends with the majority of the class. He ran over a few options in his mind - Stan, Demi, Adrian, Taylor, Dean...

Then his eyes fell onto a small, blue-eyed boy clad in an oversized sweater. Louis was clinging to Niall's arm, looking a little worried, and Harry remembered that Niall was pretty much the only friend that Louis had in this class, and since Louis and Niall had already been lab partners, they couldn't be partners again. Well, Niall was Louis' only friend in biology... except for Harry.

Harry swallowed, fingers twitching restlessly. Was he actually considering this? Louis would make a good lab partner - hardworking, good at experiments, and of course Harry was friends with him, but asking Louis to be his lab partner was such a big step. And would Louis even agree?

Across the room, Harry could see Dean and Adrian walking towards him, presumably both preparing to ask Harry to be their lab partner, so Harry had to make up his mind quickly. Dean and Adrian were both coming towards him but Harry only had eyes for Louis, who looked so nervous and worried and all Harry wanted to do was comfort him.

"Screw it," he muttered to himself, walking towards Louis and Niall, fueled by a sudden burst of confidence. He cleared his throat loudly and the two turned to look at him. "Hey Louis, do you want to be my lap partner?" Harry blurted out before he could lose his courage.

Louis blinked at him, then his body visually sagged with relief, letting go of Niall's arm. "Um, yeah, of course! I'd love to, Harry."

Harry relaxed too, pleased that he hadn't been rejected, because that would've crushed his heart. Niall had a big smirk on his face and patted Louis' back. "Okay, good, you've got a lab partner now. I'll go find mine." With that, he walked off, leaving Harry and Louis alone.

Harry fidgeted with the bag strap over his shoulder. "You wanna go find a seat?"

"Yeah, okay."

They chose a seat in the middle of the classroom, close enough to see the board but not close enough so that their necks wouldn't hurt from looking up so much. Their elbows were almost touching as they sat down and took their lesson materials out, and Harry wondered if he'd ever be able to breathe again in biology.

The rest of the class settled down around them in their new seats with their new lab partners, and Ms. Smith pulled up a presentation on the projector to introduce the new microbiology unit. They used binders full of loose leaf paper instead of notebooks in biology, and Harry reached into his folder to take out a piece of lined paper when, to his horror, he realized his folder was empty and he was out of loose paper. Next to him, Louis had already started taking a few notes down, and so had the rest of the class. Harry couldn't afford to miss out on an entire lesson's notes, but asking for a piece of paper because he'd run out did make him look a little irresponsible. 

Sighing, Harry decided the pros of asking for a piece of paper outweighed the cons and he nudged Louis with his pen. "Hey, Loubear?"

Louis tilted his head and looked at him. "Hmm?"

"I'm out of lined paper," Harry explained. "Can you lend me some?" 

"Yeah, sure." Louis stopped writing and leaned down to take out some lined paper from his bag and slid it over to Harry, who whispered a quick _Thanks_.

Harry noted, with some pleasure, that Louis' lined paper was a little smaller than his own regular lined paper. It wasn't that shocking, because after all, each person in the class brought their own lined paper and therefore they each had different sizes and types of paper, but it still amused Harry. Everything about Louis was tiny, even the type of lined paper he used in class.

When Ms. Smith dismissed them from class, they packed their things and got ready to go to their next class. Louis was zipping up his bag and Harry took a deep breath, suddenly saying, "What's your next class?"

"Um..." Louis furrowed his eyebrows. "Math, I think."

"Okay, I'll walk with you." Harry had no idea where the confidence was coming from, but he loved the feeling of it pulsing through his veins.

"Okay." Louis had seemed to forget about Niall and left the classroom with Harry, walking into the sea of students. "How's footie going? Niall says you guys have a game soon."

"Uh, yeah, we do." Harry ran a hand through his curls. "We're training pretty hard now, but we're pretty confident in ourselves."

"You should be, I've seen you guys play and you're all really good at it," Louis said. "Especially you and Liam - so it makes sense you two are the captain and vice captain."

Harry preened at the compliment. "Thanks. Aren't you really good at football too?"

A blush crept up onto Louis' cheeks. "Niall told you that, didn't he? Well, don't believe him, he's a liar and I'm really bad at footie."

"I'm pretty sure you're the liar here, Loubear," Harry said as they walked up the stairs. "A very humble and modest liar, but still a liar."

Louis rolled his eyes. "You don't have any proof."

"How about you and me go play some footie sometime, then?" Seriously, where was the confidence coming from? "I'd like to see how good you are at it."

"You're going to be sorely disappointed, but okay." Louis yawned a little as they approached his math classroom. "What's your next class?"

"Chemistry."

Louis stopped yawning and stared at him. "Chemistry? That's so far from here! You're going to be late, you shouldn't have walked with me!"

Harry laughed. "It's alright, my teacher doesn't really mind if we're a little late."

"Are you sure?" Louis asked anxiously, looking so worried that Harry had to prevent himself from cooing out loud. "I don't want you to get in trouble because of me."

"Yes, it's fine, don't worry," Harry reassured him. "Everyone's always a little late to chemistry and no one really cares."

Louis pouted and Harry desperately wanted to squish his cheeks. "You're sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be alright." Harry found it incredibly endearing how worried Louis got about him. "I'll see you later, then? Remember, you promised you'd play some footie with me."

"I didn't _promise_ ," Louis huffed, "But okay. Don't you have training today, though?"

"Maybe we can play after training or something," Harry suggested. "Or maybe we won't play today. We'll figure it out."

"Okay." Louis stepped towards the classroom door. "You should really get going, the bell's about to ring."

"Yeah, I probably should," Harry said. "Bye, Loubear."

"Bye bye, Haribo." Louis did a little finger wave and gave Harry the cutest smile before he disappeared into his classroom.

Harry turned and started walking towards the direction of his own classroom, checking his watch. He was definitely going to be late, but walking Louis to class was definitely worth it.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for all of the comments, hits and kudos! it means a lot to me :)
> 
> also i know absolutely nothing about football which is why the football scene is really short and there might be factual errors, sorry :p

Now that Harry had a match coming up soon, all he could think about was football.

Well, that was sort of a lie. He also thought about Louis. Like, a lot. Okay, all he could think about was football and Louis, so he was excited when Louis agreed to playing some footie with him.

Of course, it also made him really anxious since he'd be playing football with Louis - _the_ Louis Tomlinson - and if he slipped up in some way he would be mortified and hide in a hole and never, ever come out ever again. He was the captain of the football team, so obviously his skills weren't too shabby, but being in close proximity with Louis always made him nervous and it was bound to make him play awfully.

He wasn't about to pass up on an opportunity to spend more time with Louis, though, so he tried to sort out a time to play footie with the smaller boy. He had football training almost every day after school because of the upcoming game, but he'd be all sweaty and gross after practice and he didn't want Louis to see him like that, so he was going to have to find a day where he didn't have practice.

After school, he didn't have any football training and Harry managed to muster the courage to wait for Louis outside his locker. His courage suddenly left him as he stood there, practically shaking like a leaf and trying to convince himself the people walking by weren't actually looking and laughing at him. He knew Louis would usually go home with Niall and Zayn and he'd be intruding on their little trio, but he desperately wanted to talk to Louis in person instead of over text, no matter how nervous it made him.

"Hey, Harry!"

Harry's head whipped around to find the source of the sound, immediately recognizing the voice and feeling a small hint of irritation. Chris was walking towards him, grinning jubilantly and waving.

"Oh. Hey, Chris."

"I didn't know your locker was here, I thought it was closer to the teacher's lounge," Chris said, standing next to Harry against the lockers.

"Oh no, this isn't my locker," Harry said quickly. "I'm just, uh, waiting for someone."

"Me too." Chris looked at his watch. "I'm waiting for Louis, I want to see if he wants to go to the mall with me."

Harry felt a burst of jealousy erupt inside him. He was well aware he couldn't be the only person who had a crush on Louis, but he tried not to think about it, or else all of his hopes would be completely flattened. He wasn't special in Louis' eyes - Louis probably had a bunch of other admirers who he treated exactly like he treated Harry, and how could Harry have a chance with Louis when there were so many like him? Still, he tried hard not to glare at Chris, feeling jealous and possessive when he said, "I'm waiting for Louis too, actually."

Chris' head shot up. "Wait, really? Do you even know Louis? You guys don't seem close at all."

Harry and Louis weren't exactly close, but Harry said, "We're sort of close. Anyway, I have something to talk to him about."

"Mm, I see." Chris nodded his head slowly just as Louis, Niall and Zayn approached them.

"What are you guys doing here?" Louis looked puzzled as he opened his locker.

"We're both waiting for you." Chris pushed off the wall and walked a little closer to Louis.

"For me?" Louis placed a few books into his locker. "Why?"

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Chris got there before him. "I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out with me at the mall today? I'm going on that exchange program to Denmark soon and I wanted to spend some more time with my friends before I leave."

"And I wanted to see if you wanted to walk home with me," Harry blurted out. "You promised to play some footie with me so I wanted to figure out a time."

Louis blinked at them, and Harry wished the floor would swallow him up. Behind Louis, both Niall and Zayn watched with amused eyes and smirks on their faces, which did nothing to help calm Harry's nerves. Louis moistened his lips and opened his mouth, stuttering, "Um, sorry Chris, but I've got to, uh, b-babysit today so I can't go with you to the mall today. But, um, I can go home with you, Harry."

Harry felt himself relax, relieved and triumphant that he'd be able to go home with Louis instead of being humiliated that Louis would rather go hang out with Chris. Chris looked a little disappointed, but said friendlily, "Yeah, alright. Maybe we can go before I'm off to Denmark?"

Louis nodded. "T-that would be great."

Niall stepped forward and patted Louis on the shoulder, saying, "Well, Zee and I are going to go to the library for a bit," just as Zayn said, "Niall and I need to find some teachers to talk to." The two friends shot glares at each other and Niall cleared his throat. "Anyway, we have things to do so you and Harry can go on ahead and go home together, Lou."

Both Louis and Harry's cheeks turned red - Harry had been expecting to go home with Niall and Zayn in tow, and even though he'd gone home with Louis alone before, he could hear his heart beat loudly in his chest as they said their goodbyes to Chris, Niall and Zayn and headed for the school gate.

"So, um, you wanted to talk about footie?" Louis prompted as they left the school campus accompanied by a sea of students.

"Oh, um, yeah!" Harry stuffed his hands into his pockets. "You promised you'd play some footie with me, and I wanted to figure out a time. I have practice almost every day after school except today, so, uh, are you free on the weekends?"

"I am, but we can play right now if you want to," Louis said, kicking a few leaves as he walked.

"Don't you need to babysit or something?"

"Babysit?" Louis furrowed his eyebrows and glanced up at Harry. "What do you mean?"

Harry looked bewildered. "Didn't you say you had to babysit today, so you couldn't go to the mall with Chris?"

"Ohh." Louis' eyes widened. "Um, I mean, yeah, of course I have to babysit! But, um, I can ask the babysitter to come over and I can go play footie with you for a bit."

"Really?" Harry's eyes lit up. "That would be great. Where do you wanna play?"

"The park, I guess, there's a few goalposts there. I always play there with Ni and Zee," Louis suggested. "You know where that is, right?"

"Yeah, I used to play there too. Um, do you want to change your clothes first or something?" Harry raked his eyes up and down Louis' body, noticing the large sweater, the ripped skinny jeans, and the giant puffy jacket he was wearing to block out the cold.

Louis shook his head. "Nah, I've played footie in my skinny jeans more times than I can count."

"That's true," Harry agreed. "We need a ball, though. Do you have one at home? Your house is closer."

So they quickly made a detour to Louis' house to grab his football before they went to the park, where the area with goalposts was, fortunately for them, empty. "When did you start playing football?" Harry dropped his bag onto the grass underneath a shady tree.

Louis shrugged, placing his bag next to Harry's and taking off his jacket. "Dunno. My stepdad got me a football for my birthday when I was young and I started playing then, I guess."

"When's your birthday?" Harry asked curiously.

"December 24th."

"Wait, really? That's only a few weeks from now! You're a Christmas Eve baby?"

"Mhmm."

"So you're sort of a Christmas gift to the world, then."

Louis laughed. "You could say that. I used to think all of the Christmas lights were put up to celebrate my birthday when I was a baby."

Harry cooed audibly, trying to imagine what a mini Louis looked like. "You must have been the world's cutest baby." He refrained from saying _And you grew up to be the world's cutest person_ , even though he knew it was true. Louis was definitely the cutest, softest person he'd ever seen.

Louis blushed shyly and played with his sweater paws, making Harry's heart explode. "So, um, let's play?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course." Harry set the football down onto the grass. "You wanna be offence or defense?"

"I don't really mind. You have the ball, so, uh, I'll be defense." Louis positioned himself near the front of the goalpost in front of Harry, and Harry took a deep breath, preparing himself. He'd played football millions and millions of times, a lot of times in front of crowds, and he tried to convince himself he wouldn't fail this time at just a little one-on-one game. He hadn't decided whether he should let Louis win or try his hardest to impress Louis, but before he could properly make the decision, he pushed the ball forward and dribbled towards the goalpost.

Louis was on high alert, eyes focused on Harry, arms spread a little and he tried to block Harry from the goalpost with his body. They were dangerously close, bodies nearly pressed against each other as Harry tried to find an opening to make a goal. He could vaguely smell the familiar, soft scent of Louis and it almost distracted him before his eyes sharpened on Louis' feet, managing to shoot a goal through Louis' legs when Louis stepped around.

"Yes!" Harry pumped his fist exultantly and Louis huffed.

"I'm better at offence, I'm too small to defend properly."

"Of course you are." Harry couldn't help the fond look on his face as he jogged over to the goalpost to retrieve the football. "Okay then, you can be offence this time."

They had a few more games, alternating between offence and defense and trying to score the most goals. Harry had to admit Louis was good - not as good as him, of course, he was the captain of the team after all - but good enough that Harry really, really wished Louis would have tried out for the footie team. They could've had so much fun playing football together.

After they'd been playing for a while, Louis was the defense again. He was sweating and his fringe was plastered to his forehead with his cheeks flushed, making him look so pretty that Harry tried his best not to drool. He set the football between his feet and began dribbling towards the goalpost, immediately met by Louis' defense and he tried to swerve around the blue-eyed boy. Louis was insistent, though, blocking Harry from advancing at every move, and in the heat of the moment Harry surged forward and accidentally tackled Louis to the ground with a loud _oomph._

He could hear Louis yelp an "Ow!" and he felt pain slam into his own body as he landed on top of Louis, sprawling into the grass. The football rolled away from them and Harry immediately got off Louis, scared that he was crushing the smaller boy with his weight. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

Louis rolled over, clutching at his left knee. "Yeah, I'm alright."

"You sure?" Harry checked over Louis worriedly. "What happened to your knee?"

Louis let go of his knee and revealed a slightly bloody gash on the area where his ripped jeans left his skin exposed. Louis' face somewhat contorted in pain and his eyes watery, sniffling as he said in the smallest voice, "Owie."

Harry felt his heart do several flips at how insanely adorable Louis could be even when he was hurt or upset. He leaned in to have a better look at Louis' knee and squirmed. "I'm so, so sorry, Lou." He felt so embarrassed and troubled, distressed at how he, who was supposed to be _good_ at football, had tackled Louis to the ground and injured him, almost making the smaller boy cry.

"It - it's okay." Louis sniffled again and tried to get up slowly, gingerly placing his hand on his injured knee. "It was an accident. Maybe we should stop playing now, I don't want you to get hurt before your game."

"Yeah, we should stop." Harry got up himself, still a little disquieted. "Can you walk? And you need to clean your wound, right?"

"I-I can walk." Louis stumbled towards their bags. "I'll clean it up when I get home."

"Okay." Harry ran after the football and picked it up, returning to the tree to get his bag as well. "I'm so sorry, Louis."

"Stop apologizing," Louis grumbled, slinging his bag over his shoulder and taking the football from Harry. "It was an accident. It happens all the time."

"Yeah, but -" Harry sighed and decided to shut up before he did something even more stupid. Harry walked back home with Louis limping by his side, each unstable step a harsh reminder of what he'd done.

*****

A few days later, instead of their usual lessons in the last period, they had one of those talks from a social worker, and the entire grade piled into the auditorium. Harry was running a little late, having forgotten there had been a talk, and when he got to the auditorium it was almost filled. His eyes swiveled around to find a good seat when he heard a familiar, raspy voice whisper, "Psst! Harry! Over here!" Louis was waving at him, pointing to an empty seat next to him. Niall and Zayn were sitting beside him, smiling at Harry too and gesturing for him to come over.

"Oh, thank goodness," Harry said breathlessly as he plopped down in the chair. "I completely forgot we were supposed to come here instead of our normal classrooms."

"I nearly did that too, except Louis reminded me and dragged me here when I was about to go in the wrong direction," Zayn piped up. "Where's Liam?"

"Um, dentist's appointment or something," Harry said as he shrugged off his bag and set it down next to his feet. "Or maybe it's a doctor's appointment. Anyway, he's not here at school today."

"Oh." Zayn looked a little disappointed and turned to focus on the front of the auditorium, where the social worker was setting up a presentation on the projector. It was a presentation about relationships, which Harry had heard about a million times before. He tuned things out a little at the beginning of the talk, glancing over at Louis. There was a visible bump in Louis' jeans where he had a bandage wrapped around his left knee, and a few healing cuts and scrapes on his hands, but Louis looked fine and Harry was glad. He had no idea what he'd do if he had seriously injured Louis.

Ten minutes into the talk, the social worker announced they'd be doing some sort of ice-breaking activity. "Take out a piece of paper and a pen," she instructed. "I want you to partner up with the person next to you, and write your answers to the questions I ask down onto your paper."

Harry rummaged around in his bag and pulled out a sheaf of loose leaf paper from his folder and grabbed a pen, humming quietly. He sat up straight and looked to his sides - on his left, his neighbor had already partnered up, and on his right Niall and Zayn were buddied up, which left him with Louis.

"Partners?" Louis pulled out his own supplies and looked up at Harry, who flashed him a grin and nodded.

"Okay, the first question is... what would you like the other person to get you for your birthday?" The social worker said, pressing a key on the keyboard to display the question in large letters on the screen. "Write your answers down!"

Harry frowned down at his blank piece of paper. He never knew what he wanted for his birthday - he'd never even made a wish list. Around him, everyone was scribbling something down onto their paper, even Louis, and he clicked his pen rapidly as he tried to think. What did he want for his birthday? And what did he want _Louis_ , specifically, to get him for his birthday?

He knew the answer to that - he wanted Louis to like him back, obviously, but he didn't think that was appropriate for this particular activity and he wasn't about to write that down on his paper, so he settled for writing something a little stupid down on his paper. He'd had the same laptop cover for years now, and it was getting a bit yellow and old and dirty. He'd been meaning to get a new one soon, and although he didn't exactly want it as a birthday present, he couldn't think of anything else.

A minute or two later, the social worker called, "Okay, stop writing and share your answer with your partner!"

Harry looked up at Louis, a bit confused when he saw the wide-eyed look on Louis' face. "W-wait, we're supposed to share these with our p-partners?" Louis spluttered. "I thought we just had to write them down, not share them!"

"Doesn't make a big difference, right?" Harry shrugged. "Okay, um, I'll go first. This isn't exactly what I want for a birthday present, it's just the first thing I could think of. I sort of need a new laptop cover, since I've had mine for ages and it's dirty and yellowing and dusty and everything and I want to get a nice, new one."

"Okay, nice." Louis looked down at his paper with flaming cheeks, covering the back of it with his hand so Harry couldn't see through it.

"Okay, your turn." Harry set his piece of paper down on his lap and looked at Louis expectantly. "What do you want for your birthday."

"Um, nothing." Louis squirmed a little, eyes not meeting Harry's.

"Louis, come on, I saw you write something down on your paper," Harry said, tapping his pen on his knee. "Your birthday's just around the corner, it would be great if I knew what you wanted so I can get you something you like for your birthday."

"You don't have to get me anything for my birthday," Louis mumbled, shrinking back into his seat and holding the piece of paper close to his chest.

"Oh, come on, Louis, just let me see, please?" Harry whined. "You're _supposed_ to let me see."

"Well, I didn't know we were supposed to share them!" Louis protested.

"I won't judge you for what you wrote," Harry promised, curious as to what Louis had written, since he was being so protective about it. "Can I just see?"

"No."

"Louieeee. Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

"Harry, _no_."

"Loueh. C'mon -"

At that moment, the social worker said, "Alright, let's move on to another question," and Louis sighed in relief. Harry pouted a little, dismayed at not being able to find out what Louis had written. He settled back into his seat and turned to face the front of the auditorium again with one last glance at Louis.

What had he written on his paper?


	24. Chapter 24

A few weeks later, it was almost Louis' birthday and Harry was freaking out.

No matter how much Harry bugged him, Louis refused to show him whatever he'd written on his paper, and Harry had no idea what Louis wanted for his birthday, and no idea what he was going to get him, which was why Harry was in the mall, going in and out of stores to try to find a present.

"Leeyum." Harry tugged on his best friend's sleeve, who was looking down at his phone while Harry was panicking in the middle of the supermarket. "You're supposed to be helping me!"

"Hmm?" Liam tilted his head up a little, but kept his eyes on his phone. "You're not going to find a birthday gift for Louis in a supermarket, H."

Harry groaned. "I know, but I literally have no idea what to get him. Birthday gift shopping is too stressful, what if I get something and he doesn't like it?"

"Louis will definitely like whatever you get him. He'd probably still love it if you gave him a bag of your old socks."

"What are you on about? He'd hate me and never talk to me again if I got him old socks." They entered the candy aisle and Harry squinted at the options, wondering if Louis had a sweet tooth. "You've been on your phone for the entire time, what are you even doing?"

"Nothing."

Harry frowned and leaned over to peek at Liam's phone screen, catching sight of the name _Zayn_ flashing up on the screen at him before Liam quickly turned off his phone and shoved Harry away in annoyance, making Harry smirk. "You were texting Zayn?"

"None of your business." Liam folded his arms and raised his eyebrows, face slightly red. "Aren't you supposed to be looking for Louis' birthday present?"

"Oh come on, I wasn't judging you for texting Zayn." Harry turned back to the candy. "What were you guys talking about?"

Liam shrugged. "Things."

Harry rolled his eyes, but decided to let it go. "Very specific, Li. Help me find some gifts?"

"Give me a second." Liam slipped his phone out again to type one last message to Zayn, and then pocketed his phone and put his focus on Harry. "What sort of gift do you want to get him?"

"I have no idea, that's the problem," Harry said frustratedly, just as his eyes fell on packs of jumbo Haribo gummy bears. He reached out and picked them up, examining for a few seconds and holding them up to Liam. "How about these?"

"Haribo gummy bears?" Liam took the bag of candy from Harry. "Because he calls you Haribo?"

"Um, yeah, I guess. Or is that a lame gift?" Harry began to doubt his idea. "Does Louis even like gummy bears?"

"If he calls you Haribo, he probably doesn't hate them, right?" Liam handed the bag back. "It's a cute gift, you should get him some jumbo Haribo gummy bears, I bet he'd like it."

"Really?"

"Mhmm, it's a sappy, inside-joke sort of gift, y'know?" Liam's phone buzzed and he took it out of his pocket to glance at the notifications. "Something that would only be meaningful coming from you."

"Yeah." Harry gazed at the bag of gummies in his hand and reached his hand out to the shelves to get a few more bags. "What else, though? A few packs of gummy bears isn't enough for a birthday gift, especially Louis' birthday gift."

"I told you, he'll like anything and any amount you get him. He's so gone for you."

"No he isn't!" Harry's cheeks burned immediately.

"I can't with you two." Liam was focused on his phone again, typing a text to someone who Harry assumed was still Zayn. "Um, you can get him tickets? Game tickets, movie tickets, concert tickets, that sort of thing."

"But I have no idea what artists Louis likes," Harry pouted, feeling sad. "He's going to hate me for my crappy birthday present."

"Stop being so dramatic, idiot. I'll ask Zayn."

Panic seized Harry. "Wait - no! If you ask Zayn then Zayn will know I like him and he'll tell Niall and Niall will tell Louis and Louis will know I like him and—"

Liam shushed him and typed a message with lightning speed, finger hitting the 'send' button before Harry could stop him. "There, I asked him."

"Liam!"

"Calm down, H, stop overthinking. Don't you want to get Louis a nice present?"

"Yeah, but..." Harry huffed, hugging the bags of gummy bears to his chest. "Ugh. I hate you."

"Okay, H." A new message popped up on Liam's screen. "Okay, Zayn says Louis likes Ed Sheeran, you could get him tickets for one of his concerts."

"Really?" Harry's eyes lit up. "Thank you so much, Li! I love you!"

"Yeah, yeah." Liam smiled fondly. "You are such a lovesick idiot."

Harry wasn't even going to deny it. It was true, after all.

*****

Louis' birthday and Christmas Eve falling on the same day meant that Harry couldn't follow his original birthday plan like he'd wanted to. He'd wanted to go over to Louis' house and see if Louis would be okay with them hanging out together all day. He knew Niall, Zayn, and Louis' family would probably be fawning over him all day on Louis' birthday, and Harry had been hoping he'd be able to squeeze himself in there somehow.

But Christmas Eve meant that Harry's extended family would be coming to his house for their traditional Christmas Eve dinner, and Anne needed him to do some cleaning up, decorating, and more importantly help make dinner, which meant that Harry had little to no time to go over to Louis' and wish him a happy birthday in person. He wondered if he could run over to Louis' house early in the morning to give him his gifts, but Harry would probably just end up annoying Louis, who liked to sleep in. So Harry just resigned to the fact that he probably wouldn't be able to see Louis at all on his birthday, which made Harry feel a little sad.

The morning of Christmas Eve, Harry sent Louis a text that read _HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYYY!!_ with a bunch of celebratory emojis and pictures, hoping to convey his enthusiasm through text message, and apologized for not being able to celebrate with Louis in person. He knew Louis was presumably still asleep, probably looking adorably cuddly buried in his blankets, so Harry didn't wait for a reply and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He had a long day of preparation ahead of him.

"Why the sad face, Haribo?" Gemma asked when Harry came downstairs for breakfast.

Harry scowled at her. "Don't call me that. That's _Louis'_ nickname for me."

Gemma sighed. "Fine. Why the sad face, idiot?"

"It's Louis' birthday today, and I don't have time to go over to his house," Harry explained, sliding into his seat and taking the plate of food Gemma handed him. "I was hoping I could give him his presents and wish him a happy birthday in person."

"That's not really a big deal, is it?" Gemma sat down opposite Harry and Anne also seated herself. "You can just do that tomorrow."

"It's Christmas Day tomorrow! I still won't have any time," Harry protested. "And Louis is going to think I'm insincere because I didn't go to his house to say happy birthday even though he's only ten minutes away."

"He'll understand you're busy, dear," Anne said, buttering her toast. "He's probably busy too, and so are all of his friends. Louis seems like a very understanding and sweet boy, so stop worrying about it so much."

"Yeah, I know," Harry said glumly. "Just... I don't know."

"If it worries you so much, you _can_ go to his house, you know." Gemma bit into her toast. "You can finish your duties earlier, or I can cover you for half an hour and you can pop by his house for ten minutes."

"Really?" Harry looked at his sister hopefully.

"We're not going to keep you hostage in the house for the whole day," Anne laughed. "You can go for a while, just don't spend too much time there because you're still needed here."

"Okay! Thanks Mum, thanks Gems." Harry started wolfing down his breakfast, eager to get started on his chores early so he could go visit Louis later.

"Slow down before you choke, Harry," Gemma warned, poking Harry's arm. "If you die, you won't be able to wish Louis a happy birthday."

Harry mumbled back an unintelligible answer that was hardly in English, but slowed down his chewing slightly and drank a big gulp of apple juice to help wash everything down. Gemma shook her head, smirking. "You're such an idiot."

*****

Harry's day consisted of a lot of cooking, a healthy dose of cleaning, and a little bit of decorating. He loved cooking, so Anne had assigned him with cooking the majority of dinner, but he still had to help with making their house look presentable for their family.

He and Anne had planned out an extravagant menu for Christmas dinner with a wide range of complicated dishes. Harry was excited to cook them - Christmas Eve was one of the few times he could really splurge on ingredients and make classy dishes, but he was starting to regret promising to make so many dishes when he realized how sore and exhausted he'd be when the day was over.

Once he'd helped Gemma vacuum and mop the floor, dusted the shelves, and hung a few Christmas lights around the house, it was almost noon. Harry whipped up a quick lunch for them and after that, popped by the supermarket to buy a few more ingredients he needed. Now was when the fun was _really_ going to begin and Harry had to get started on making his fancy dinner, hoping he'd cook fast enough to save a little time for Louis.

Louis had replied to Harry's text message, thanking him for the wishes and telling him it was totally fine that he was busy, because almost everyone he knew was busy too. Harry was glad Louis wouldn't be upset with him, but he was still determined to wish him a happy birthday in person.

A few hours later, Harry had a turkey and a pot roast cooking in the oven, and a saucepan full of cream infusing on the stovetop while he sliced up some potatoes. His neck hurt a little from bending his head while cooking, but he had to keep going if he wanted to make time for Louis.

"Harry?" Anne poked her head into the kitchen. "Do you want to take a break?"

"It's okay, I'm alright," Harry answered automatically, eyes still on the potatoes he was slicing. His back and legs were tired from him standing for so long, but he knew he could power through.

"Don't you want to go over and wish Louis a happy birthday?"

Harry's head shot up immediately. How had he forgotten about that? "Um, yeah, of course!"

"I can step in for you for half an hour while you go over to the Tomlinsons'," Anne offered. "Potato gratin is my specialty, after all."

"Okay, thanks, Mum! Love you." Harry set down his knife and ran over to the sink to wash his hands, then quickly ran over to give his mother a big hug before he ran off to get Louis' presents.

"Harry!" Anne said, making Harry stop in his tracks and turn around.

"Yeah?"

Anne gestured to his chest. "Take off your apron before you go, will you? And fix your hair."

Harry reached up to touch his curls, confused as to what Anne meant, before he remembered he'd slipped on a headband to push his hair out of his face as he cooked, and he probably looked a bit ridiculous with his apron and a messy headband and a red face from being in the hot kitchen for so long. "Oh, um, yeah."

He took off his apron and ran upstairs to the bathroom, trying to fix his appearance in the mirror. He did look like a bit of a mess but he didn't have much time, so he made himself look as presentable as he could, slipped on his winter jacket, grabbed Louis' birthday gifts, and ran out the door.

The streets were alive with the bustle of Christmas activities - families walking home with armfuls of presents, Christmas carolers singing in the street, the sound of bells and laughter... Harry stuck his hands into his pockets to try to warm them, shivering in the cold but smiling at how happy and cheerful everyone looked. He was on a tight schedule, though, and he hurried to the Tomlinsons' house.

The house was decorated with a few Christmas lights and a miniature Christmas tree on the front porch. Harry could hear the chatter of voices coming from inside the house and it suddenly made him anxious. What if Louis didn't like his gift? What if Louis thought Harry was being stingy by just giving him two gifts? What if Louis didn't want to see him? He shook himself out of it, trying to steel his nerves and convinced himself he was being silly. Liam, Gemma and Anne had assured him over and over again that Louis would love it, and he trusted them, so they would be right, right?

Before he could lose his confidence again, Harry rapped his knuckles against the door and waited apprehensively, gripping the paper bag that contained Louis' gifts tightly. Fizzy answered the door and blinked at Harry, shyly saying, "Hi, Harry."

"Hey, Fizzy. Is Louis here?"

"Um, yeah, wait a second." Fizzy turned around and called into the house, "Louis! Someone's here for you!"

"Who is it?" The sound of Louis' soft, raspy voice made Harry's heart do a couple of backflips, and he took a deep breath, trying to prepare himself. He heard the patter of footsteps and a few seconds later Louis appeared at the door. "Fiz, who - H-Harry?"

Louis' eyes widened and Harry mustered a smile, waving. Louis was dressed in a pair of jeans and a giant, ugly, red Christmas sweater with a giant reindeer on the center that he somehow looked really good in. He looked so soft and festive and cuddly, and the adorably confused look on his face didn't help to make him any less cuter. "Hey, Loubear. Happy birthday!"

" 'm gonna go." Fizzy looked between them and then ran back into the house, leaving Louis and Harry alone.

"I - what are you doing here?" Louis looked puzzled. "I-I thought you were too busy."

"Yeah, I was too busy," Harry admitted. "But I made some time to come over here and give you your presents and wish you a happy birthday in person."

"D-do you want to come in?" Louis still looked bewildered, with a light blush coating his cheeks.

"Oh, um..." Harry checked his watch - he was sure Anne could handle the cooking for a little longer, but it was supposed to be his job and he felt guilty that his mother had to do it for him. "Maybe not, I can't stay long. Um, here are you presents." Harry handed Louis the paper bag.

"Y-you got me presents? You shouldn't h-have," Louis stuttered, but he took the bag from him.

"You wouldn't tell me what you wanted for your birthday, so I didn't really know what to get you, but I hope you like them." Harry fidgeted with the zipper of his jacket nervously.

He watched with bated breath as Louis opened the bag. He pulled out a bag of Haribo gummies and giggled, immediately melting Harry's heart. "You got me Haribo?"

"Yeah." Harry grinned. "You know, something that'll remind you of me and tastes delicious at the same time. I got you a lot, though, so you could share it with your sisters if you want."

"Shhh, don't say that so loud!" Louis covered Harry's mouth with his tiny hand and Harry resisted the urge to keel over. "I don't need four sugar-high children running around. These are _my_ gummies," Louis said childishly.

"Alright, alright." Harry tried not to coo at how cute Louis was being. "I got you one more thing, it's underneath all of the Haribo packs."

Louis rummaged through the bag and took out an envelope, frowning. "What's this?"

"Open it and see."

Louis opened the envelope and gasped, pulling out the two slips of paper. "Y-you got me Ed Sheeran tickets?!"

"Do you like them?" Harry asked anxiously.

"I love them!" Louis unexpectedly threw himself at Harry, wrapping his arms around Harry's neck and giving him a giant cuddle. Harry was frozen in shock for a split second but quickly wrapped his arms around Louis' waist, trying not to drool at the smell of gingerbread cookies that clung to Louis' clothes. He couldn't believe Louis was _voluntarily_ hugging him, and he felt like he was on cloud nine. Louis pulled back after a few seconds, cheeks red. "S-sorry."

"It's alright, I love your hugs." The words slipped out of Harry's mouth before he could stop them, and Louis' cheeks colored even more.

"Thank you so much for the tickets, they must've cost you a fortune," Louis said, gazing down in wonder at the two tickets in his hands.

"I got you two, so you and whoever you pick can go," Harry explained.

"Thank you so much for these, Harry, you really shouldn't have." Louis dropped the tickets back into the bag and reached out to give Harry one more quick hug.

"Don't mention it." Harry usually would never spend so much money on someone's birthday present, but making Louis happy had been worth it.

"Are you sure you don't want to come in? It's really cold and you're shivering," Louis said worriedly, eyebrows furrowing in concern. "You can have a cookie? We made some this morning."

Harry looked down at his watch again, and shook his head. "I'd really love to stay, Louis, but I have to go. I've got a huge Christmas dinner to cook."

"Oh." Louis looked a little disappointed. "Okay. Thank you for the gifts, Harry!"

"I'm glad you liked them." Maybe Harry was high off the feeling of Louis' hugs, or the fatigue from the day's work had gotten to him - in any case, he wasn't thinking straight when he instinctively stepped forward, leaned down, and pressed a soft kiss to Louis' pink cheek.

"Happy birthday, Lou."


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy 28th you guys! here's the chapter you've been waiting for :)

Harry fell asleep dreaming of Louis.

He hoped it wasn't weird that he'd kissed Louis on the cheek. It's just - Louis had looked so soft and happy and sweet and Harry hadn't been able to stop himself, but friends kissed each other on the cheek all the time, right? Harry would've laid awake the whole night overthinking about it, but all of the fatigue from the day caught up with him and he was passed out on his bed in a few minutes, slipping into dreams full of Louis and his adorable smile.

In the morning, he woke up pretty late and stumbled downstairs, finding Anne and Gemma already sitting down for breakfast. They had set a plate beside for him, and he sat down gratefully at the dining table and started eating. As he ate, he couldn't help glancing over at their Christmas tree, where all of their presents sat under. They'd be opening them up when breakfast was over and Harry was excited, but he was particularly excited for one baby blue box with a little turquoise bow on top.

A few days ago, Louis had come by the Styles' house to drop off the gift, smiling shyly as he handed it to Harry. Harry had felt guilty that he'd only gotten Louis a birthday gift and not a Christmas gift, but Louis had assured him that birthday gifts doubled as Christmas gifts for him and it wasn't a big deal. Harry had carried the baby blue box so carefully, heart melting at the little tag on the side that read, _to: haribo, from: loubear_ in Louis' handwriting.

As soon as they had gathered around the Christmas tree after breakfast, Harry immediately dove for Louis' box, holding it carefully in his hands and taking a few seconds to admire Louis' wrapping, which was a little sloppy but only succeeded in melting Harry's heart even more. He took off the tape slowly and gingerly unwrapped the box - he was definitely keeping the wrapping paper for this one - and opened up the box. Inside was a knitted blue and green scarf, laying next to a Christmas card and a little plastic package. The card simply read:

_Dear Haribo,_

_Merry Christmas to you and your family! It's really cold now, so I thought you'd like a scarf. I've never knitted before and it's my first time knitting, so it's a little ugly, I hope you'll ignore that, though :p I know it's such a cliché gift but I couldn't really think of anything else, so... yeah. The girls also wanted to get you something, so the plastic bag is filled with a bunch of stickers they chose for you._

_Merry Christmas to you and your family! :)_

_all the love,_

_Loubear .x_

Harry was already about cry from seeing a personal, handwritten letter from Louis, but his heart skipped a beat as he gently picked up the blue and green scarf and the little packet of stickers. He wasn't going to lie - the scarf _was_ a little wonky, but added to its charm. Harry could almost smell Louis' yummy scent on the scarf and he buried his face into it, loving the feel of the soft yarn against his cheek. He couldn't believe that Louis had spent so much of his time knitting a scarf for him; since Louis had said he'd never knitted before, it could have possibly even taken him an entire _month_ , or more. It was so much more heartfelt than Harry's gift of gummy bears and concert tickets.

He finished opening up all of his presents, grinning happily at all of the things he'd received, but none of them compared to Louis' scarf, which stayed permanently in his lap.

"You really like Louis' scarf, huh?" Gemma asked, eyes dancing humorously. 

"Well, yeah." Harry's cheeks flushed a little, and he held the scarf up to his chest. "It's cute. And he made it for _me_."

"Alright, well, no judgement." Gemma held her hands up in surrender. "We all know you're madly in love with him. Now, come on, we need to tidy up."

Harry got up and helped to toss most of the wrapping paper into the recycling bin and throw the tape and packaging away, but he carefully folded up Louis' wrapping paper and slipped it into his drawer in his room, along with the packet of stickers. He hadn't let go of the scarf yet, still clinging onto it tightly as he put the rest of his Christmas presents away and cleared the dining table of their dirty dishes. He finally ended up wounding the scarf around his neck to keep him warm from the cold winter wind that hit him when he left the house to go visit the Paynes'.

"Merry Christmas!" he sang when Karen opened the door, eagerly welcoming her hug and stepping into the toasty house. "How are you guys doing?"

"We're doing great." Karen beamed at him. "We were just having leftovers from last night's Christmas dinner for breakfast, do you want some? There are _a lot_ of leftovers."

Harry took his shoes off and set them neatly by the door. "No, thanks. I've already eaten breakfast and Mum will want me to save the space in my stomach for our own leftovers."

"Well, okay. Liam's up in his room, if you're looking for him."

"Thanks, Mrs. Payne. Merry Christmas!" Harry made it up to Liam's room and opened the door, poking his head in. "Hi, Li."

"Hmm?" Liam, who had been sitting on his bed, looked up slightly startled. "Jeez. Knock, will you?"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry." Harry slipped in and plopped down next to Liam's desk.

"Nice scarf," Liam commented. "Did you make it yourself? Looks like you made it yourself, it's sort of weird-looking."

"Hey!" Harry immediately said defensively, hands instinctively reaching up to touch the scarf as if he was protecting it. He knew the scarf did look a little crooked, but he wasn't about to let anyone say that out loud. "It was Louis' Christmas gift for me! He made it himself."

"Oh!" Liam's eyes widened and he said, embarrassed, "Oops. Sorry. It's a cute scarf."

"It is, isn't it?" Harry said proudly. "Louis' so talented."

Liam rolled his eyes. "Look, Harry, I'm not trying to insult Louis or anything, but you've got to admit that's not exactly a, um, _perfect_ scarf."

Harry huffed. "It was his first time knitting! And he made it for _me_. That makes it perfect, to me, at least."

"Whatever you say, lover boy."

Harry left the Paynes' house a while later, but instead of returning straight home like he had planned to, he found himself walking over to the Tomlinsons' house for the second day in a row. He couldn't help it - his feet just automatically took him there, like he was on autopilot. Nestling his nose into Louis' soft scarf, he knocked on the door and was greeted by Jay, who hugged him and quickly tugged him into the house. "Come on in, Harry! It's freezing out there."

"Oh, um, okay." Harry toed off his shoes and a small body immediately slammed into him.

"Harry!" Phoebe - or was it Daisy? - squealed, trying to wrap her short arms around Harry's middle. "Merry Christmas!"

"Hi, love." Harry reached down to pat the little girl's hair. "Merry Christmas to you, too!"

"Did you like the stickies? Me and Dai picked them out for you!" Phoebe said happily. "And LouLou made you scarf! He said you better like it or he will cry! He said -"

"Pheebs, how about you come back and finish eating your breakfast?" Louis hurried into the foyer, face red, and gestured for Phoebe to come back into the dining room. "C'mere, sweetie."

"Okey dokey." Phoebe let go of Harry and skipped towards the dining room. "Buh-bye, 'arry!"

"See you later, Phoebe." Harry waved his fingers.

"Um, Harry." Louis cleared his throat. "We're having breakfast, do you wanna join us?"

"No thanks, I already ate mine."

They stood there silently for a few seconds before Jay patted Harry on the back and said, "You can still sit down and chat with us. I'll go get an extra chair for you."

Harry somehow got seated right next to Louis, probably because Jay had gone to the trouble to carry a chair all around the table to Louis' seat, and insisted that Harry sit down. He noticed the faint rosiness in Louis' cheeks but dismissed it, thinking that Louis was probably just cold. Louis was wearing another red sweater, which thankfully didn't have a hideously large reindeer on the front, like the one he'd worn yesterday.

Harry took off his scarf and jacket, setting them in his lap. Louis stared at the scarf on his lap. "D-did you like my Christmas gift?"

"I love it!" Harry's voice was a little too excited, and he tried to tone it down. "It's super soft and thoughtful and warm." _Like you_ , he added in his mind.

A huge smile instantly spread across Louis' face, eyes crinkling up and his nose scrunching. He looked like a little kitten and Harry was about to die. "I'm glad you liked it. Sorry it's a bit crooked, though."

"Nah, it's alright. I really like it, imperfections and all." 

"If Harry like scarf, LouLou won't cry now?" Phoebe asked hopefully.

"Pheebs, shut it," Louis hissed, averting Harry's gaze. 

Phoebe furrowed her eyebrows and glared at Louis. "Mummy, Lou is being _mean_. I was bein' nice!"

Jay tutted disapprovingly. "Louis, please be nicer to your sister. Phoebe, please think before you speak." Louis stuck his tongue out at Phoebe and Phoebe stuck hers out right back, causing Jay to sigh loudly. "Eat your breakfast, kids."

Harry tried his best to hold back his laughter, staring at his lap to avoid eye contact. Louis acted like such a little kid sometimes and Harry loved it - he didn't know how many times he could say it, but the boy was _adorable_. 

"So you're not going to go anywhere for the holidays?" Louis stuffed a hash brown into his mouth and chewed, looking up expectantly at Harry.

Harry shook his head. "Nah, we're just having a lowkey Christmas at home."

"No relatives to visit?"

"Well, most of them came here last night for Christmas dinner, so I don't need to go visit them again for now." Harry rested his arms on the table. "How about you guys?"

"We're having a lowkey Christmas too," Lottie piped up. "Just staying at home."

"Make snowman!" Daisy cheered. "Can we show 'arry our snowman?"

"We made a snowman and decorated the garden yesterday! It's pretty!" Fizzy explained. "Can we, Mummy? Can we show Harry?"

"After breakfast, love. Come on, eat up."

Once the Tomlinsons had finished eating their breakfast, Jay was in the kitchen washing the dishes while everyone else was still out in the living room. Louis clapped his hands. "Well, do you guys wanna show Harry our backyard?" All the girls nodded vigorously. "Let's go put on our winter jackets then, it's cold out." The girls scrambled off to their closets and Louis turned to Harry, patting him on the shoulder. "Just wait here and put on your jacket, I won't be a minute."

Less than a minute later, Louis ambled down the stairs dressed in his puffy winter jacket. The jacket made him look so round and squishy and Harry covered his mouth to hide his smile, trying to look away at some of the pictures lining the shelves. "Hey, is that a little baby Louis?"

Louis immediately ran over and snatched the photo frame off the shelf. "No it isn't."

"Yes, it is. I wanna see, please?" Harry begged, dying to get a closer look at a tiny Louis. "Pretty please?"

"No." Louis clasped the photo to his chest protectively.

"Loueh."

"No."

"Loueh!"

"Harry, stop it. I'm _not_ showing you my baby pictures!"

"Oh, come on. I'll let you look at some of mine if you want!"

Louis considered Harry's offer for a few seconds and finally relented, holding the photo frame out. "Fine."

Excited, Harry took the photo from Louis and saw a tiny, toddler Louis standing in the snow, bundled up in coats to keep him warm. He couldn't help cooing out loud at how tiny and adorable Louis looked in the picture. "Aww, you were so cute! You look so squishy. I want to push baby you over so bad."

"Heyyy." Louis pouted. "Do you insult toddlers on a regular basis?"

"No, but for you I'll make an exception," Harry said, smiling winningly. "Come on, Lou, you've got to admit you look like the smallest, most kickable baby possible."

Louis stuck his tongue out at Harry and stomped off. " 'm going to go see what's taking the girls so long." At that moment, Daisy and Phoebe waddled down the stairs, not wearing their coats. Louis tilted his head. "Where are your coats, hmm?"

"We don't wanna go anymore." Daisy reached her arms up and Louis obeyed, lifting her up into his arms and letting Daisy bury her face into his neck.

"Why not, Dais?" Louis looked puzzled as he swayed his sister around in his arms.

"It's cold! We don't like cold." Phoebe announced.

"You were so excited to go a minute ago, are you sure you don't want to go?" Both twins shook their heads and Louis sighed. "So Harry and I got into our winter coats for nothing? How about Lots and Fiz?"

"They don't wanna go too."

Louis took a deep breath. "Okay, wait here a second, I'll put my coat back into my room and we can do something else—"

"No!" Phoebe tugged on Louis' sleeve. " 'arry and LouLou go see Mr. Snowman together! Please? Want Harry to see snowman."

"Harry?" Louis turned to Harry expectantly, and Harry took an unconscious step back. "What do you want to do?"

"Oh, um..." Harry scratched his chin. "I don't really mind. If Phoebe really wants me to go see your snowman, then sure, I'll go."

The twins giggled mischievously and Louis frowned at them, but he carefully set Daisy back onto the ground and gestured for Harry to follow him. "Okay. Come on, Haribo."

"They seem like they're up to something," Harry commented as he and Louis slipped on their shoes by the backdoor.

"They're _always_ up to something," Louis laughed. "I heard them giggling and hatching plans last night, they're probably causing trouble as we speak."

Harry wound Louis' scarf around his neck and hummed. "You sure they haven't boobytrapped the backyard or something? They seem eager to get us out in your backyard but they won't come out with us."

"Well, if they have, they're in big, big trouble, although I can't recall a time in the last few days they would've had the chance to do that." Louis finished putting on his shoes and opened the backdoor cautiously, poking his head out. "Looks like the coast is clear... for now. I hope they didn't set up that trick where they pour a bucket of water over you... it's too cold for that."

"Don't worry, Lou, I'll protect you from the bucketfuls of ice water." Harry said jokingly, following Louis out into the backyard and shivering when the winter wind hit his face.

"Ugh, it's freezing." Louis made a cute little whimper and tried to nestle his face into the collar of his jacket as they stepped out onto the snow. Something came over him and Harry's eyes landed on Louis' petite hand, abruptly sensing a tug at his heartstrings. Feeling particularly brave all of a sudden, Harry reached his own hand out and interlaced his fingers with Louis'.

Harry was holding Louis' hand, and this time it wasn't even a dream.

The touch of Louis' skin electrified Harry, and he was horrified to discover that his bravery had left him almost as instantly as it came, but it was too late to turn back now. He was panicking, thinking Louis was going to hate him now. He could make out the sound of Louis gasping, and he tried to pull himself together, inhaling deeply through his nose. Louis stared at their entwined hands then gazed up at Harry with wide, surprised, and slightly questioning eyes.

"I-is this o-okay?" Harry stuttered out. It was a wonder he could even speak - his heart was racing and his brain was too jumbled to properly form a sentence.

Louis nodded wordlessly, but he squeezed Harry's hand in response and a wave of relief washed over Harry. At least Louis wasn't weirded out by the hand holding, right? "So, um." Louis made a cute little _ahem!_ , cheeks pink. "Here's our little Christmas-y backyard."

Harry peeled his eyes from away from the blue-eyed boy and surveyed the yard, spotting Christmas lights hung over the fences and the lower branches of trees, as well as a few reindeer and gingerbread men decorations. In the middle was a typical round, grinning snowman with a carrot nose, a top hat, and a mouth made out of buttons. Louis tugged Harry towards the snowman and said formally, "Harry, meet Mr. Snowman."

"Hi, Mr. Snowman." Harry played along and pretend to shake the snowman's twig hands. "Aww, he's adorable. Why is he so short?"

"Well, short children made him, and they're not very tall, aren't they?" Louis reached out to brush some of the excess snow off that had fallen onto the snowman the night before, but one of his hands still remained clasped with Harry's.

"When you talk about short children, you're also referring to yourself, right?" Harry teased, earning a playful glare from Louis. They wandered around the backyard, hand in hand, for a few more minutes while Harry admired the decorations. "You've got a lot of trees in your yard," Harry remarked as they approached the trees and stopped walking. 

"Um, yeah, I guess. They were already here when we moved in," Louis said, reaching up to touch one of the lower tree branches.

Harry looked up at the trees and a flash of green and red caught his eye. "Is that mistletoe?"

Louis looked up too and blinked blankly, saying in a quiet voice, "Um, yeah. The girls must have hung it there yesterday."

Harry was becoming increasingly aware of the tradition that two people standing under mistletoe were supposed to, well, _kiss_ , but he definitely wasn't ready to kiss Louis. Louis' hand in his was already sufficient to give him a heart attack, and Harry wasn't about to risk his friendship with Louis two times in one day. They stood under the mistletoe for a few seconds, hands still tangled together, suddenly silent and gazing into each other's eyes.

Harry's heart was beating wildly in his chest as he looked into Louis' eyes. They were so clear and blue, like peering into a pool, and hidden under Louis' long, fluttery eyelashes. Harry was mesmerized by them and he could feel the air leaving his lungs, captivated by how pretty and adorable and sweet Louis looked like this. He was wondering how there could be such a perfect person on this Earth when Louis suddenly got onto his tiptoes, leaned forward, and connected his lips with Harry's.

It was freezing cold outside, but the feeling of Louis' warm lips against his was all Harry would ever really need.


	26. Chapter 26

A kiss from Louis was probably the best Christmas gift - heck, _any_ sort of gift - Harry had ever gotten, no offense to everyone who had bought him a gift before.

Harry was consciously aware that Louis' lips tasted _delicious_ , like vanilla with a little hint of cinnamon - basically, he tasted like a snickerdoodle cookie and Harry was definitely in love with it. It was so fitting for the sweetest boy in the world to taste like cookies and he couldn't help kissing back, leaning forward and bending down a little to make it easier for Louis.

Louis pulled away from the kiss after a few seconds, cheeks beet red and his eyes blown wide open - to be fair, Harry probably looked the same - and Harry could practically hear Louis' heart rabbiting in his chest.

"I, um." Louis' voice was a few octaves higher than it usually was and he cleared his throat. "It's, uh, cold, do you want to go back i-inside?"

Harry wasn't even sure if his vocal chords were working, so he simply nodded and watched as Louis immediately let go of Harry's hand and dashed back inside the house, disappearing from Harry's view in about five seconds. 

Harry felt numb as he trudged towards the backdoor. His heart, mind, and soul were all in a big jumble and he felt like he was moving underwater. Louis had kissed him. Louis had _kissed_ him! Harry was probably dreaming, but when he pinched himself hard, nothing happened. He was still standing in the Tomlinsons' backyard, with traces of Louis still on his lips.

He was moving on autopilot when he stepped back into the house and closed the door behind him, awkwardly shuffling into the living room and wondering what he was supposed to do now. Louis was sitting on the couch, tucked between his sisters and not making eye contact with Harry, staring straight ahead. Everyone else in the living room were staring at him and Harry coughed uncomfortably, shifting around on his feet.

He was saved by Jay, who walked into the living room with a stack of mail in her hand - evidently, the postman had just been by. Everyone's attention turned to her and Harry breathed a sigh of relief, moving to sit down in an empty seat.

"Is there any mail for me, Momma?" Daisy asked, looking at the stack of letters expectantly.

"There is! Here's a Christmas card from Beth," Jay said, handing Daisy a colorful envelope and continuing to sort through the stack. "Oh - Louis, here's one for you, too."

"Thanks, Mum." Louis got up to grab his mail from his mother's outstretched hand, and plopped back onto the couch.

"Who's it from, LouLou?" Phoebe crawled into Louis' lap and tried to grab the envelope from Louis' hands, but Louis quickly snatched it back, batting Phoebe's hands away. Huffing, Phoebe slipped off Louis' lap and went to look at Daisy's Christmas card.

Louis ripped open the envelope and pulled out what looked like a postcard, cheeks immediately flushing as he read the card. Curious, Harry scooted into Phoebe's now-vacated seat, and leaned over Louis' shoulder to have a look. "Who's it from?"

Louis let out an adorable squeak when he realized Harry was right over his shoulder and quickly clasped the postcard to his chest so Harry couldn't read it. "It's, uh, it's from C-Chris."

"Chris?" Harry scowled, the excitement and high of Louis' kiss wearing off and being replaced by jealousy. 

"Yeah, he's, um, in Denmark for his exchange program and he promised to send me some postcards," Louis explained quietly, showing Harry the picture of colorful houses that decorated the postcard.

"I see." Harry's stare remained blank and he stood up. "I think I, uh, better get back home. Mum will be worried that I've been gone for so long."

"Oh, okay." Louis stood up too, setting the postcard down on the coffee table. "S-see you, then." Harry felt more awkward as ever standing there, face heating up, and he wanted desperately to get out of the Tomlinsons' house and get back to his own room and scream into his pillow. Why was he feeling like this? Shouldn't he be _happy_ that Louis kissed him? 

"Buh-bye, Harry!" The twins tumbled over to give Harry hugs and Harry half-heartedly returned their hugs, patting them on the head.

"Bye, munchkins." Harry's scarf had gotten a little loose so he wound it around his neck again and patted his pockets to make sure he hadn't left anything behind. "Merry Christmas!"

There were a few more choruses of _Merry Christmas!_ as Harry stepped out of the door, feeling a sense of relief when he was finally out of the Tomlinsons' house. He didn't know _why_ he was feeling relieved - maybe he had just too much pent up nervous energy and tension being around Louis, especially after a _kiss_ , and Harry really needed a good scream into his pillow. He beelined his way back home, took off his layers of winter coats, and flopped onto his bed. He lay there motionlessly for a while, trying to process everything.

Louis kissing him meant he liked him... right? That was generally what kisses meant - at least that was what Harry thought. What if Louis had only kissed him because it was a tradition to kiss under mistletoe, though, and the kiss didn't really mean anything - just Louis upholding tradition? Harry hoped that wasn't the case, but he had a sinking feeling in his stomach that it was... why would someone as beautiful and perfect as Louis ever want to kiss someone like _him_? There was no way Louis could like Harry.

But God, did Harry wish Louis liked him. Their kiss had only lasted a few seconds but now that Harry had had a taste, he already wanted more. Louis was so cute and smart and sweet and Harry was dying to be something a little more than a friend, but the kiss probably meant nothing and Harry was just getting ahead of himself. 

And what about Chris' postcard? Louis had been blushing when he'd read it, and he and Chris were evidently close enough that Chris would send him postcards. Harry had no idea what to think - did Louis like Chris, or did he like Harry? It had been months and he still couldn't figure anything out. But Louis had kissed him... that had to mean something, right?

He groaned and rolled over, picking his phone up. He was too much of a worrywart for things like this especially when it came to Louis, and he needed a second opinion, so he texted Liam.

_harry the frog: louis kissed me_

Liam's answer came immediately and Harry wondered what Liam had been doing on his phone previously.

_lima bean: HE WHAT_

_harry the frog: he kissed me. we also held hands._

_lima bean: HE KISSED YOU ON THE LIPS??_

_harry the frog: yep_

_lima bean: IM COMING OVER RIGHT NOW_

Liam burst into Harry's room a few minutes later, panting, apparently having run all the way there. He pulled a chair up, sat down, and simply said one word. "Spill."

Harry sat up and said in a voice that didn't really sound like his own, "Um. Louis kissed me."

"Okay, I got that from your text, but I'm going to need more details." Liam gestured wildly. "What were you guys doing before the kiss? What happened after? Come on, tell me."

Harry took a deep breath, clasped his hands in his lap, and proceeded to explain everything that had happened - how he'd somehow been invited to go look at the Tomlinsons' backyard, how he'd suddenly gathered the courage to hold Louis' hand, and how Louis had kissed him when they were standing under the mistletoe. "It probably doesn't mean anything, though," Harry concluded. "He just did it because we were standing under the mistletoe and it's tradition."

Liam rolled his eyes. "How much dumber can you get?"

"What?" Harry protested. "I'm just being realistic—"

"You're just being an idiot," Liam interrupted. "Louis didn't kiss you and act all flustered and shy afterwards for your kiss to 'not mean anything'." Liam punctuated the last three words with air quotes and Harry frowned. 

"Li, there's no way someone like him is going to like someone like me."

"For God's sake, Harold Edward Styles!" Liam grabbed Harry's shoulders and Harry's eyes widened, not used to his best friend being so outspoken.

"My name isn't even Harold, it's just Harry—"

"Oh, shut up, Harold," Liam said irritably. " _Harold Edward Styles_. You held hands with Louis. He kissed you. He likes you back! Now don't you dare mess this up, you oblivious fool."

Harry blinked. "But—"

"Don't you _but_ me, Styles. Everyone with eyes can see that you two are madly crushing on each other and you two are the only people who don't notice. He likes you, okay?"

Harry folded his arms, resigning to the fact that maybe Liam was right. Maybe - just maybe - Louis really _did_ like him back. "Say he does like me, what am I supposed to do now?"

Liam shrugged, letting go of Harry's shoulders. "You know, the usual stuff. Talk it out with him and confess your feelings, then see how it goes."

Harry's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "Confess?"

"What else were you going to do?"

Harry scratched his head. "I don't know... pretend it didn't happen and continue being friends with Louis?"

Liam smacked his forehead. "Harry. This is your chance, okay? Don't you dare mess it up."

"What if it goes badly? I'll never recover. I don't want to lose Louis' friendship, maybe his friendship is enough for me," Harry said glumly.

Liam sighed. "Come on, H. Take a chance, will you? I can't guarantee things will go well, but you're going to regret it if you don't do it. Louis likes you, have some faith in him and yourself."

Harry pouted. "What would I even say?"

"You've confessed to people before, H. You know what it's like, just let it come to you naturally," Liam advised. "Loosen up, jeez. I know this is a big deal for you but you're not helping anyone by being so uptight and worrisome about it. If you do this right, maybe you and Louis will be on your first date at the end of the week."

Harry immediately blushed at the prospect of a first date with Louis and tried to discreetly cover his face so Liam wouldn't notice and make fun of him about it, but of course Liam noticed and Harry was mercilessly teased for the next few minutes. 

*****

Long after Liam had left and after Harry had eaten dinner, he was lying in his bed again and wondering what he should do. He'd spent most of the day trying to build up courage to confess to Louis and losing the courage whenever disquieting what ifs entered his mind. What if the kiss didn't really mean anything to Louis? What if Louis was just pranking Harry? What if Louis would laugh at Harry when he confessed?

He shivered - he was sure Louis would never be so rude or so mean, but Harry would never be able to live it down if Louis _was_ pranking him. He bruised like a peach - both physically and mentally - and being rejected by Louis was a hit he wasn't sure he could take. Harry had been texting Liam his worries and Liam had been texting back words of encouragement that were getting progressively more aggressive - his latest one read, _harry if you don't stop overthinking i'm going to come over and confess to him for you right now_. 

During dinner, he'd explained everything to Anne and Gemma, and they too had encouraged Harry to go talk it out with Louis and confess his feelings, but he was still on the fence. It was too late to go over to the Tomlinsons' house anyway, so he tapped into Louis' contact and stared at the video call button. He tried to convince himself that it would be alright - he knew Louis was a sweet, adorable person, and if Louis had to reject Harry, he'd do it nicely, right? And everyone Harry had talked to had assured him over and over again that Louis liked him back...

He was still debating whether or not he should call Louis when his thumb slipped and pressed on the video call button before he could make up his mind. Harry panicked and nearly fell off his bed, scrambling for his phone and trying to still his beating heart as he eyed his phone nervously. It was probably too late to hang up now, and maybe he should just take this chance and get it over with.

Louis answered in a few seconds, and the image of a sleepy, cuddly, and soft-looking angel popped up on Harry's screen. From the looks of it, Louis was already in his pajamas and laying in bed, his fluffy hair sticking out in every direction and his eyes drooping cutely. Harry could feel himself melting already and his worries slipped away momentarily. "Hey, Loubear."

" 'Ello." Louis stifled a yawn, voice already sleep ridden. "Why'd you call?"

"I wanted to talk to you." Harry swelled nervously. "About, you know, the, uh... our kiss this morning?"

Louis suddenly looked wide awake and he sat up straight, cheeks already red. "Oh! I, um, I'm so sorry I kissed you, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, I should've asked for your permission first—" Louis rambled, not making eye contact with Harry through the screen.

"You don't need to apologize," Harry cut in. "I liked the kiss."

"Y-you did?" Louis' face was a mixture of confusion, shock, surprise, relief, and happiness, and Harry desperately wanted to squish his cheeks.

"Yeah, I did," Harry admitted. "Lou, I-I've got something to tell you."

Louis looked at Harry expectantly. "Mhmm?"

"I, uh." His entire body felt numb with nervousness and electricity. "I have a crush on you. A pretty big one too, actually. I-I've liked you since the beginning of this year."

Louis' eyes widened and his jaw fell open, wordlessly gawking. Harry squirmed and closed his eyes, bracing for the worst. Louis wasn't talking and this wasn't good, this wasn't good at _all_ — 

"I-I like you too."

It was Harry's turn for his jaw to drop. "You - what?"

"I h-have a crush on you too," Louis repeated, drawing his knees up to his chest.

Harry did a double take. "You - but - why me? I'm nobody."

Louis scoffed. "Nobody? Harry, you're the most popular person in our year. You're smart, and friendly, and handsome, and everyone likes you."

"But I thought you were above liking people like me." Harry furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Maybe he was popular and well-liked, but Louis and his friends had always seemed so much more... _elite_ than Harry was.

Louis looked adorably bewildered. "Why wouldn't I like someone like you? Y-you're so perfect."

Harry and Louis could have gone back and forth forever, but Harry needed more information. "So, uh, how long have you liked me, then?"

"I've had a crush on you for a while now," Louis confessed. "I don't really know when it started. I-I always knew you who you were, but a year or two ago it started developing into a full-on crush."

Harry gaped. So Louis had liked him for a year before Harry had even noticed him? He felt a little guilty for not knowing who Louis was up until the start of this school year, but this was huge news to him. He felt like his heart was about to burst from excitement and ecstasy and he narrowly escaped from squealing in happiness. Louis liked him back! He'd been hoping and daydreaming and fantasizing about this for so long and now that it was finally coming true, he couldn't find his words. "W-what about Chris?"

Louis tilted his head. "What about him?"

"You know, uh..." Harry struggled to piece together his thoughts. "You two seemed so close and he told me he liked you, and you're always so blushy and giggly when you're around him."

Louis looked embarrassed. "Um, I thought that there was no way you'd ever like me back, and Chris was being so nice to me, so I guess he became my b-backup?" Louis slapped a hand across his mouth. "That sounds so _rude_. I just mean - he's a great person and he was so nice to me and I liked him, but not more than I liked you."

"Of course I'd like you back, why did you think I wouldn't?" To be fair, Harry had felt the exact same way, but - Louis was the definition of perfect! It didn't make sense to him at all.

Louis shrugged. "I'm nothing special, plus Nick doesn't like me at all and he's your best friend, so..."

Harry scrunched his nose up in mild disgust. Louis thought Nick was his best friend? "He's not my best friend. He's sort of a jerk, really. I told you, ignore everything he says, yeah? He loves dragging people down for no reason at all."

A small, cute beam graced Louis' face and they fell silent all of a sudden, smiling foolishly at one another through their phone screens. Harry felt the urge to reach through his screen and hug Louis, and he really wished they were together in person so he could kiss Louis again and taste those yummy lips.

_Stop thinking about that_ , he scolded himself, shaking himself out of it. Now that they'd confessed their feelings, Harry had to do something about it. "So, uh, Lou, do you wanna go ice skating with me sometime?"

"Um, yeah, of course!" Louis squeaked, looking so adorably nervous Harry wanted to keel over from the cuteness.

"Okay, good." Harry had a hard time holding back his grin. "It's a date, then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i recently decided to be active on my [tumblr](https://meredithflynn28.tumblr.com/) again, so come say hello! unlike my instagram, i'd really like for my tumblr to be more about my fanfics, so you're welcome to come over to send requests or ask any questions :)


	27. Chapter 27

Ice skating really wasn't Harry's forte.

Maybe it was because his legs were too long or it was because of his overall clumsiness, but Harry really wasn't that good at skating, which was why he was smacking himself in the head for asking Louis to go ice skating with him. He could've picked something he was good at, or at least something where he wouldn't look like a complete fool in front of Louis, but _no_ , he'd picked ice skating, an activity bound to have him falling over several times.

Don't get him wrong - he loved ice skating and thought it was fun, but unfortunately liking skating didn't make him _good_ at skating. And yeah, he could have just asked Louis if they could do something else, but Louis had sounded so excited about going ice skating that Harry couldn't bear to disappoint him.

Harry was in bed and they were video calling again a few days after their confession, trying to set up their first date. It made Harry giddy just thinking about going on a date with Louis and he couldn't control the grin on his face as he talked to Louis through his phone screen.

"I've never gone ice skating before," Louis confided, like he was revealing a huge secret. "I've always wanted to try, though."

"Why haven't you ever skated before?"

Louis shrugged. "Never really gotten around to doing it, I guess." Louis wasn't in his own room this time - Harry could make out his living room in the background, as well as the voices of his sisters, mother, and what sounded like... Niall?

"Hi, there, Harreh!" A head of blonde hair suddenly filled Harry's screen, startling him a little.

"Hi, Niall."

Niall sat down on the couch next to Louis and started rambling, "I'm so excited now that you two have confessed to each other, you have no idea—"

" _Niall_!" Louis shrieked, mortified, and he tried to push Niall off the couch with his free hand. "Go _away_!"

Niall willingly hopped off the couch and ran away to escape Louis' wrath, but Harry could still hear him cackling in the background. Louis' cheeks were flaming red and he was hiding his face with his sweater paws, trying his hardest not to make eye contact with Harry. Harry's heart melted, endeared by this adorable little angel who seemed to make everything he did the sweetest thing in the world, and he couldn't help himself. "Aww, you're cute, love."

Louis' cheeks colored even more at that and Harry fought the urge to run over to the Tomlinsons' house just to pinch Louis' cheeks. "So, um." Louis cleared his throat, eyes still not meeting Harry's. "W-when are you free?"

"I'm free for pretty much the whole week." It was true - Harry had cleared his entire schedule to make space for his and Louis' first date, and the rest of his free time was reserved for lying on his bed and freaking out about Louis. It was going to be a good week.

"Okay, um..." Louis fiddled with the hem of his sweater as he thought. "How about this Friday? I think I'm free."

"Yeah, of course. Friday's fine with me." Harry sat up a little on his bed. "Where d'you wanna go? There's an ice skating rink near the mall, fifteen minutes from here."

"That sounds great." Louis was still hiding his face with his sleeves. "What time should we meet up? A-and where?"

"I can pick you up at your house," Harry offered. "And how about four in the afternoon? We can go skating and then eat dinner together - only if you want to, of course," he added hastily, afraid he was being too forward.

"I'd love to have dinner with you, Harry."

Harry breathed out a sigh of relief. "Alright, then, it's settled."

*****

It was three thirty on Friday and Harry was in his bathroom, fussing over his appearance. He'd picked out a nice outfit the night before, but should he gel his hair? Should he put on some cologne? He finally gave up and left his curls how they were and sprayed on the tiniest bit of cologne, because once he'd sprayed on too much and accidentally caused Liam to sneeze a dozen times from the strong scent, and he definitely didn't want to do the same thing with Louis. He had a feeling that Louis' cute little button nose was be much more sensitive than Liam's - everything about Louis was much more delicate, after all - and he wasn't taking any chances.

Instead of buying a bouquet of real flowers, which probably wouldn't survive a week, Harry had folded a little origami flower for Louis. He wasn't even good at origami, so he had to admit the flower was a little wonky and creased in places, but he hoped Louis would overlook all of that and not laugh at it in front of Harry's face.

Once he was done in the bathroom, he sat down at his desk and ran through his game plan again. It was straightforward and simple - pick Louis up, give him the origami flower, take the bus to the skating rink, try not to fall over while skating, take Louis to dinner, offer to pay for everything, and bring Louis back home before eleven - a rule Jay had insisted on, although Harry was sure they'd be back way before that. Everything sounded so simple and direct, but Harry was still worrying over it. How much was he supposed to insist on paying for things? What if Louis didn't like skating as much as he thought he would? What if things got really awkward between them and they didn't know what to say to each other?

Harry tried to push those worries out of his mind - he couldn't afford to get cold feet now. It was almost time for him to leave and he patted his pockets to make sure he had everything he needed before he slipped downstairs and out of the door. He arrived at the Tomlinsons' house ten minutes earlier than he was supposed to be there, so he just stood there out on the sidewalk for a little while.

He chewed on his lower lip anxiously, disquieting worries entering his mind once again now that he didn't have anything to do. Maybe the origami flower was lame. Maybe this _was_ a giant prank and Louis was just going to stand him up. Maybe he'd sprayed on too much cologne and Louis was going to have a giant sneezing fit. Granted, Harry really wanted to see Louis sneeze because he was sure it would be adorable, but he didn't want to be the _cause_ of the sneezes.

A few minutes before four o' clock, Harry gathered the courage to ring the doorbell, and Jay answered the door. "Hello, Harry." Her voice was warm, but just a little less friendly than it usually was. Harry could feel her eyes on him and sensed a protective motherly talk coming.

"Hello, Jay."

"So." Jay leaned against the doorframe with no intention to let Harry in - which made sense, since he'd be gone in a few minutes anyway. "You're taking my son on a date, huh?"

Harry swallowed nervously. "Uh, yes ma'am."

Jay's eyes twinkled in amusement at Harry's reaction. "You seem like a good person, so I won't say much, Harry. Just know this - Louis may be my eldest child, but he's still _my_ baby, okay? So you better take good care of him."

"Of course, I'll try my best," Harry promised - and he really meant it.

"Good." Jay stood up straight. "Wait here, I'll go get Louis. His sisters insisted on helping him get ready, and they're a wild bunch so he may need some help getting free." Jay returned a minute later with Louis, whose cheeks turned a light pink when he saw Harry.

"H-hi..."

"Hey, Lou." Harry tried to put on a confident demeanor.

"Have fun, you two!" Jay nudged Louis out the house and closed the door immediately, leaving Harry and Louis alone on the front porch. 

Harry dug around in his pocket and pulled out the slightly crumpled origami flower, and handed it to Louis. "Here... I made this for you."

He watched anticipatedly as Louis took the flower gingerly and stared at it, saying shyly, "It's so pretty! Thanks, Haribo."

Harry grinned in relief and he was about to walk down the front porch steps when he noticed there was something green on Louis' cheek. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a tiny little Peter Pan sticker. He gestured to it and said, "Um, you've got a sticker on your cheek."

Louis automatically slapped a hand onto his cheek, looking embarrassed. "Oh, um, one of the girls must have stuck it there."

"Here, let me." Harry stepped closer to Louis and reached a hand out to touch Louis' cheek, gently peeling the sticker off. He was consciously aware that he could literally feel Louis' breath on his neck and that he was close enough to _kiss_ the smaller boy, but he managed to get the sticker off without a hitch and he gave Louis a small smile. "C'mon, let's get going."

When they got to the skating rink, Louis trailed behind Harry a little bit, looking around him in wonder. "I've never been here before. It looks so much more... _modern_ than I thought it was."

"I guess so." Harry had been here so many times so he couldn't really relate to what Louis was saying, although he could somewhat see his point. They paid their entrance fees, borrowed some skates (Harry was delighted to discover that Louis' shoe size was small, just like the rest of him), and stuffed some of their things into a locker. Louis was wobbling slightly on his skates and he held his arms out to try to balance himself, but he still had to grab onto the occasional handrail.

Right before they were about to step out onto the ice, Louis suddenly grabbed Harry's sleeve and said in the tiniest voice, " 'm scared."

Harry tried his hardest not to coo. "It's alright, it's really not that hard. You'll be fine, Lou."

Louis pouted. "But I don't have any balance."

"And neither do I, and I can, well, sort of skate. Come on, give me your hands, love." Harry held out his hands and Louis blushed as he slipped his hands into Harry's, letting the taller boy slowly lead him onto the ice. Harry's breath hitched when he touched Louis' hands and he hoped his palms weren't too sweaty, but he knew they were about to get super sweaty because holding Louis' hands made him awfully nervous.

Louis let out a little squeak as he wobbled violently, which caught Harry off guard and he stumbled over his own feet too, falling over backwards and taking Louis with him. He slammed into the floor and Louis landed right on top of him, their faces and bodies pressed close together. Louis' eyes widened and his eyes briefly landed on Harry's lips before he made a choking noise and rolled off Harry. 

"Ow..." Harry groaned, rubbing the back of his head. "You alright?"

"I think so." Louis swayed as he slowly got up. "I thought you said you could ice skate!"

"I said I could _sort of_ skate," Harry defended. 

Louis made a face. "I don't think I trust you to teach me how to skate anymore, you _sort of_ ice skater."

"Lou!" Harry whined. He had no idea where this Louis had come from, but he loved it. "Stop being such a meanie and help me up. And I _will_ teach you how to skate, we're not leaving this rink until I do."

"I think you're the one who actually needs to be taught how to skate," Louis teased.

" _Lou_!"

Louis giggled and grabbed Harry's arms, pulling him up shakily. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Teach me now?"

Harry huffed and wiped his hands on his jeans, which were wet because he'd touched the ice, and he playfully scowled at Louis. "If you insist." They entwined their hands again and Harry led Louis a little further onto the ice. "It's sort of like walking, just slide your skates against the ice," Harry encouraged. "C'mon, don't be afraid, I won't let you fall."

"Big words from someone who just made me fall over," Louis mumbled under his breath, earning a poke from Harry.

"Hey! I didn't do that on _purpose_."

Louis smiled up at Harry innocently. "I'm just kidding. Don't let me go, okay? 'm scared."

"I won't," Harry assured him. "Trust me, I'm right here." 

Louis gripped Harry tightly and took a few tentative steps, slowly and shakily skating forward as Harry skated backward. "A-am I doing it?"

"Yep, you are. You're doing great, Lou!" 

Louis lasted five minutes carefully taking little steps across the ice before his foot slipped a little and he grabbed onto Harry's wrists for stability. If Louis had grabbed onto anyone else, he would've been able to balance himself and stay standing, but of course Harry was a clumsy idiot and he fell over, once again taking Louis down with him. 

"Hey, are you two okay?" Daniel, one of the workers that Harry knew, skated over. "That's the second time you've both fallen over, if you're beginners you should really be holding onto the wall."

Louis snickered, poking Harry's chest. "Hear that? You're a beginner too."

"Oh, come on!" Harry complained, face heating up. "Dan, don't embarrass me."

"Sorry, Harry!" Daniel skated away from them, chuckling. "I was just giving my professional advice!"

"Don't listen to him," Harry grumbled, helping Louis up. "We don't _have_ to hold onto the wall."

"Yes, you do!" Daniel called over his shoulder. "Harry's just trying to impress you, but you guys really should be closer to the wall."

Harry was now more embarrassed than ever, but the tinkling, happy giggles that left Louis' mouth made up for it.

By the time they left the skating rink, Harry's body was sore from falling over. They'd held hands the entire time and every time Harry tripped over his own feet, Louis fell down too, and somehow he always managed to land on top of Harry. This meant a little extra pain for Harry, but also meant that he was able to cushion Louis' fall and Louis was completely fine, which Harry had to admit was worth it.

The sky was darkening when they made their way to the mall and picked a quaint Italian restaurant for dinner. It wasn't anything fancy and they were seated in a little cozy corner of the restaurant and handed their menus.

Harry hummed, eyes skimming over the menu before they glanced up at Louis. Louis had taken off his giant puffy winter coat so he unfortunately didn't look as squishy as before, but he still looked adorably small in a giant sweater with all of his soft hair brushed to one side and his little tongue poking out the side of his mouth as he scanned through the menu. 

Louis chose the gnocchi while Harry chose a lasagna, and they decided the share a margarita pizza. Harry ordered for them and when the waiter walked away, they sat there awkwardly for a bit and gazed at each other bashfully. Harry cleared his throat. "So, Lou... how's, uh, life?"

Louis snorted a little at the basic conversation starter and Harry was about to die, but Louis replied, "It's good, I guess. I'm looking forward to the new year."

"Oh, me too. It's only a few days away and I can't believe this year passed by so quickly."

"I know, right? I can still remember exactly what I did last New Year's Eve and now the next one has already arrived."

"Are you going to be doing anything special for New Year's Eve, then?"

"Not really." Louis stretched his arms out. "Well, Niall, Zayn and I are going to have a sleepover, but we've done that almost every year."

"Sounds fun, what are you guys going to do?"

"You know, the usual. Watch a few movies, watch the countdown, celebrate for five minutes and fall asleep straight after, then wake up at horrendously late hours the next day," Louis said simply. The waiter came back with their drinks and Louis held his cup between his sweater paws, taking small sips and reminding Harry of a little kitten. He looked up at Harry expectantly. "Do you and Liam want to come?"

Harry blinked. "Oh, um, yeah! I'll come, but I'll have to ask Liam if he wants to." Of course, Harry already knew what Liam's answer would be - Liam would never pass up on a chance to get closer to Zayn.

"Good." Louis smiled widely and returned to taking tiny sips from his cup.

Their meal proved to be delicious and Harry wolfed his lasagna down almost instantaneously, topped by half a pizza and washed down by large gulps of his cup of Coke. They made small talk while they ate and Harry noted that Louis was _also_ cute when he ate food, his cheeks puffed up like a chipmunk. Harry knew he'd said Louis was adorable too many times, but he couldn't help it. He was speaking the truth, anyway.

After dinner, Louis looked really tired so they opted to take the bus home instead of walking. Harry was reminded of the day a few weeks ago when they'd taken the bus home together and Louis fell asleep on his shoulder, and for some reason his heart was beating wildly as he sat down next to Louis.

Two hours of ice skating, a filling dinner, the humming of the bus' engine and a dark sky was a recipe for sleepiness and Louis' eyes were unfocused and his eyelids heavy. His face was buried into the collar of his puffy jacket, which only seemed to help lull him into his drowsiness even more, and his head bobbed around as he valiantly tried to fight his tiredness. Harry nudged Louis' shoulder gently and whispered, "Hey."

"Hmm?" Louis turned his unfocused eyes onto Harry and Harry held back a coo.

"Take a little nap if you want to, love. You look pooped." Of course only Harry would use the word _pooped_ to describe tiredness, and he regretted it almost as soon as he said it, but luckily for him Louis was probably too sleepy to even notice.

"Nap?" Louis let out a cute little tired sound.

"You can sleep on my shoulder if you want, Loubear."

"Mm." Exhausted, Louis almost immediately placed his head onto Harry's shoulder and snuggled up close, eyes closing and falling asleep in a few seconds.

Harry twisted his head a little to look down at Louis' soft, brown hair. He really, really couldn't help himself and it felt like instinct when he dropped a tender kiss to the top of Louis' head and wrapped an arm around Louis' dainty waist to prevent him from falling out of his seat. "Sweet dreams, Lou."


	28. Chapter 28

Harry felt like he was permanently floating on a cloud the days following his first date with Louis.

Granted, he woke up the next morning still sore from falling over on the ice so many times, but that was quickly overshadowed when he checked the time on his phone and saw a couple text notifications from Louis that he'd sent a few minutes ago. One was an adorable little message that read, _sorry i got really tired towards the end, i had a lot of fun! maybe we can do it again sometime? :)_ and the other was a reminder that Harry needed to ask Liam whether he wanted to come to the New Year's Eve sleepover.

He knew Liam's answer, of course, but he shot Liam a quick text before he replied to Louis, saying he'd just asked Liam and yes, of course he'd like to do it again sometime! Louis replied with a smiley face and that was pretty much the end of their conversation, so Harry set his phone back down on his nightstand and got out of bed, stretching to get rid of the cricks in his neck.

As he got ready, he fondly remembered the night before, when Louis had cuddled up to him and fallen asleep on his shoulder. Harry thought he'd be nervous and tense for the rest of the bus ride, but he'd been strangely at peace, feeling calm and safe with Louis snuggled up to him. When Harry had shook Louis awake and the two had gotten off the bus, Louis had sleepily stumbled to his house and given Harry a huge, warm hug before he disappeared into his house. Harry could still remember the feeling of Louis' arms around his neck and the little tired whines Louis had been making, and he couldn't help melting. He just felt so _lucky_.

By the time he walked downstairs for breakfast, Liam had replied to his text, and of course he wanted to go to the New Year's Eve sleepover. Why would he want to miss an opportunity to be with Zayn? With that confirmed, Harry sent another text to Louis to tell him and got to work scrambling some eggs and making some toast for himself.

Anne walked in and sniffed the air hungrily. "Do you mind making some breakfast for me too, Harry?"

"Sure, Mum." Harry popped a couple more pieces of bread into the toaster and cracked a few more eggs. 

"Thank you, dear."

Harry suddenly remembered he hadn't asked for Anne's permission to go the sleepover, and although she usually let him do whatever he wanted, he still had to ask. "Mum?"

"Hmm?"

"On New Year's Eve, Louis, Zayn and Niall are having a sleepover and they invited Liam and I, I can go, right?"

"Oh, um, alright. Don't stay up too late with them, though."

"Yes, ma'am." Harry saluted Anne jokingly and she rolled her eyes.

"Go make me my breakfast, silly."

And so a few days later, Harry and Liam arrived outside Niall's house, each armed with an overnight bag. Harry was a little disappointed that they weren't going to Louis' house because he couldn't say hello to Louis' sisters, but he was excited nonetheless to see what Niall's house was like.

A blonde, friendly-looking woman answered the door. "Hello! You must be Harry and Liam."

"Yep, that's us." Harry pointed to himself. "I'm Harry and he's Liam."

"Well, it's very nice to meet you boys, Niall's said a lot about you. I'm Niall's mother, you can call me Maura. Come on in!" Maura gestured for them to come in and they trailed into the house after her.

Niall, Zayn and Louis were already in the living room, stretched out on the couches and chatting about something. They all looked up as Liam and Harry approached and waved hello, making space on the couch for them to sit. "Hi, guys! Glad you could make it." Niall, who had been sitting next to Louis, moved away a little to create a new seat. "Harry, come sit here." Harry obediently sat down, sandwiched between Louis and Niall.

"Hi, Haribo," Louis said shyly, fiddling with his sweater paws.

"Hey, Lou." Harry dug around in his pocket and pulled out another crumpled piece of origami he'd made that morning, this time in the shape of a butterfly. It still didn't look good, but hopefully enough practice would make his origami pieces look nice and it would _actually_ be romantic. "Here, I made this for you."

Louis made a soft noise and took the butterfly from Harry, blushing. It was honestly adorable how easily Louis blushed. "Thank you so much!"

They were gazing into each other's eyes when Niall interrupted. "Why don't _I_ get a butterfly?"

Panic seized Harry. "I, uh, I'll make some for you next t-time," he stuttered, worried that now he was going to be scrutinized for making origami for Louis only. He'd never really thought about making it for someone else, though of course he'd make some for Niall if he wanted some—

"I'm just kidding," Niall laughed, playfully nudging Harry's shoulder. "I don't mind that Louis is the only person you make origami for."

"O-oh, okay." Harry could hear Liam and Zayn snickering and shot them death glares, but luckily Louis wasn't laughing at him. "So, uh, do you have a plan for what we're going to do?"

Zayn shook his head. "Not really, we just do whatever we want. We've got half an hour until dinnertime."

"Monopoly?" Niall suggested. "I've got the game."

"Monopoly is going to take forever, Ni," Louis said, carefully slipping his butterfly into his bag.

"We can just play until dinner's ready," Niall insisted. "I'll go get it! You guys set up an area for us to play." Niall dashed off to his room and the other boys got out of their seats and lifted the coffee table away so there would be a big space in the middle of the living room where they could all sit down on the floor and play the board game.

Louis was sidled up next to Harry and Zayn was sidled up next to Liam, leaving a small space for Niall in between the pairs. Zayn and Liam seemed to be having their own conversation so Louis whispered to Harry, "Hi."

"Hi."

"Nice scarf."

Harry looked down and saw that Louis' Christmas gift was wound around his neck - he now wore the scarf practically everyday especially now it was so cold - and he hadn't bothered to take it off yet. "Well, you made it, didn't you? Of course you'd say that."

Louis giggled, covering his mouth with a petite hand and his eyes crinkling. "I've seen you wearing it the last few times I saw you, so... do you _really_ like it?"

"Yeah, of course." Harry wasn't even saying it because Louis was the one who had made it for him. "It's warm and comfy and does its job... and of course it was a gift from you."

Louis made a happy little sound and bravely leaned his body against Harry's, head resting on Harry's shoulder. Harry immediately relaxed and let Louis lean into him, but he unwound his scarf because now his face was burning red and the warmth from the scarf wasn't helping. 

Niall returned with the Monopoly box and they laid everything out on the floor, picking their players and dealing out some fake money for everyone. Unfortunately for Harry, once Niall had appeared with the game, Louis had stopped leaning on him and now Harry was missing a much needed warmth.

"Hazzie." Louis poked Harry's side and Harry raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar nickname.

"Hazzie?"

Louis blushed again. "S-sorry, I won't call you that if you don't like it..."

"No, no, I like it." Of course he liked it - the nicknames Louis came up with for him were so endearing. "Just, uh, how did you come up with that?"

"A magician never reveals his secrets," Louis said dramatically, in a deep, rich voice he'd probably picked up from Drama class.

"I don't think you're a magician, Lou."

"Shh, just go with it, Hazzie."

"Okay, Mr. Magician." Harry held up his hands in surrender. "What did you want to say to me anyway?"

"I don't know how to play Monopoly," Louis confessed.

"You've never played Monopoly before?!" Harry asked indignantly. 

"No, I _have_ played," Louis defended. "It's just, you know... I haven't played _a lot_." Harry tutted and a very cute, pouty, puppy-eyed expression crossed Louis' face. " _Hazzie_."

"Okay, okay." No one, especially not Harry, could resist such a powerful thing like Louis' puppy eyes. "So, basically..."

Liam eventually won their short thirty minute game and he waved around his stack of fake bills triumphantly. "I am a genius!"

"Don't get so full of yourself, Liam, we only played for like half an hour and you only won by a little bit," Harry said sourly as he helped to pack the game up. He'd come in second place and had been a few dollars away from beating Liam.

"You're just upset you didn't win, Styles." Liam stuck his tongue out at Harry.

"What did Maura make for dinner, Niall?" Louis' soft voice cut through the petty argument. 

"Not sure. Some sort of stew and some mashed potatoes from what today's groceries looked like."

"Anything your mum makes is delicious, and stew sounds good." Zayn stood up and brushed off his pants. "Where's Greg, by the way?"

"Greg?" Liam looked confused.

"My brother," Niall explained. "I think he went to a friend's house for New Year's Eve, especially since he knew we were going to have a sleepover here."

"Alright, good for him. Well, come on, I'm hungry." Zayn trooped off to the dining room and the rest of the boys followed him.

Niall's guess had been right and dinner was indeed a beef stew with a side of mashed potatoes, which the boys wolfed down with tolerable ease. After dinner, they washed the dishes and regrouped in the living room again, in their pajamas and this time armed with mattresses to sit on and blankets and pillows to snuggle up with. Harry was sitting on the outskirts of their little group again, because Niall insisted on sitting in the middle and Louis insisted on not sleeping on the outskirts, because he was scared. So Harry settled down on the mattress on the very right, right next to Louis.

"Movie marathon!" Niall cheered, turning on the television. "We've got four hours or so until midnight, so we can squeeze in two movies."

"Not much of a marathon." Louis already looked like he was ready to fall asleep, tucked in and only the top of his head sticking out from under his blanket.

"Oh, shut it, Tommo." Niall was still in a Christmas-y mood, so he put on some _Home Alone_ and settled back onto his mattress. 

Halfway through the movie, Harry glanced to his left at Louis, and found that the smaller boy was asleep so early into the night, small puffs of air leaving his mouth as he breathed. Harry usually would have been happy to let him sleep and admire how cute Louis was asleep, but the entire point of this sleepover was that they would stay up until midnight to watch the countdown. "Um... should we wake him up?"

The three boys looked over and Zayn said, "Nah, we'll just wake him up a little later. If he sleeps now he'll be more awake for the countdown."

Liam checked the time on his phone. "It's only nine thirty, is he already tired?"

Zayn shrugged. "He gets sleepy easily, like a tiny kitten."

Apparently, all the talking had been a little too loud for Louis. His face scrunched up and he rolled over to try to cover his ears with his blanket. "Oops," Niall mumbled. "Shhh. Let's just wake him up when the movie's over."

Accordingly, Niall shook Louis awake when _Home Alone_ ended and they were greeted by a very cute and grumpy Louis who didn't like being disturbed from his sleep. Niall put on another movie and this time Louis didn't fall asleep during it, although Harry did catch him rubbing his eyes a lot. Somehow, Louis had scooched closer to Harry and their shoulders were touching as they watched the movie. Harry debated putting his arm around Louis' waist, but his nerves got the better of him and he ended up just sitting there with his hands in his lap. Nonetheless, he was content with a slightly sleepy and cuddly Louis by his side.

Louis wasn't the only one who was tired, though, because at the end of their second movie all of the boys were yawning. "Okay, maybe no more movies," Niall said, turning the television off. "We've still got some time until midnight. Let's do something else!"

" 'm tired," Louis whined, stretching out spreadeagled on his mattress. 

"You can't afford to be tired now! We're almost at midnight!" Niall pounced on Louis and began tickling Louis' tummy, making Louis shriek loudly and roll over in an effort to protect himself. 

"Niall, stop it! Harry, help!"

Harry blinked and was about to pull Niall off Louis when Niall said, "Harry, don't you dare! This is the only way we can make sure Louis doesn't fall asleep before the countdown and won't ruin the whole purpose of this sleepover."

"Nooooo! Harry, please!" Louis squealed in between uncontrollable giggles.

Harry was at a crossroads - help Louis or help Niall? To get in Louis' good graces, the obvious answer would be to help the smaller boy, of course, but Niall was right. Tickling Louis would help to wake him up a lot and Harry did want Louis to be awake for the countdown so they could celebrate together. Before he could even come to a decision, Niall stopped his tickle attack and finally let go of Louis, grinning at Harry. "There, see?"

"You're all so mean, I hate you," Louis groaned, clutching his tummy. 

"Sorry, Lou, it had to be done." Niall crawled back onto his mattress. "See, you're all awake now."

"Well, I don't care, it was mean and you know I hate being tickled." Louis glared at Harry. "And you! You didn't even _try_ to help me."

Harry held back a laugh - he knew Louis was trying to be intimidating, but he really... wasn't, especially with his messy hair and oversized pajamas. "Sorry, Lou. As Niall said, it had to be done." 

"Hmph." Louis sat up and hugged his knees.

Curious, Harry ignored Louis' huffy expression. "Have you never stayed up until midnight before?" 

"No, of course I have, I don't sleep _that_ early." Louis ran a hand through his hair and tried to tame it. "It's just... today is a sleepy day."

"It's ten minutes until midnight, you'll get to sleep soon." Zayn rearranged his pillows a bit and turned the television on again, in lieu of the countdown. "Anyone got any New Year's resolutions?"

"The usual, I guess," Liam said. "You know, exercise more, save more money, eat healthy, get more sleep... and I'm probably not going to stick to it."

"Fair enough. The same goes for me, I think."

"I want to read more," Louis piped up.

"You read enough as it is, Lou," Niall scoffed.

"No I don't!" Louis protested. "I don't read as much as I used to and I—"

"Okay, we get it, Lou," Niall interrupted. "I think I want to spend more time practicing guitar, with all the schoolwork that's been going on I've sort of been neglecting it."

"Cool, cool, cool." Liam glanced at Harry. "What about you, H?"

"Oh, um..." Harry didn't real do resolutions, but this year he had and his real New Year's resolution - or the little goal he'd set for the coming year - was to get closer to Louis and maybe, just _maybe_ , be his boyfriend. He definitely wasn't going to say that out loud, though. "Lead our football team to victory, I guess."

"Oh, that too." Niall perked up. "I want to get better at football, especially now that I'm on the team. We've got a game coming up after this holiday ends, right?"

"Mhmm." Harry nodded. "We've already been practicing a lot more than usual."

"Zayn and I will come to cheer you guys on," Louis promised, and Harry's heart jumped at the idea of Louis watching him play a match. Although he loved that Louis would be coming to support him, he'd be even more nervous than he already was.

The countdown started a few minutes later and all of the boys sat up attentively, watching the crowds on the television shiver with anticipation. "I don't know why I'm so excited," Louis muttered, sleepiness completely gone.

"I'm excited too," Harry admitted. "I'm pretty sure we all are. It's a new year! New beginnings, and all that."

"Ten!" The announcer shouted into his microphone, voice loud and clear and directing both boys' attention back onto the television screen. "Nine! Eight!"

"Oh, it's happening!" Niall said avidly, hands clasped together.

"Seven! Six! Five!"

Harry glanced at Louis, who was still intently watching the countdown.

"Four!"

He felt his heart do a couple of flips. Louis' hair looked so soft and smooth and he had a cute smile on his face in anticipation of the new year.

"Three!"

The fact that Louis was sitting so close that Harry could smell his sweet vanilla scent also wasn't helping. It was like some drug infiltrating his nostrils and reprogramming his brain to just think of Louis, but Harry couldn't complain.

"Two!"

Louis. _So pretty._

"One!"

Just as the countdown reached zero and there were cheers of _Happy New Year!_ , Harry leaned over and cupped Louis' cheek with his hand, turning Louis' face a little towards him and connecting their lips.

Harry didn't know what had come over him - he'd just felt an urge to kiss Louis. A New Year's kiss was tradition, right? And Harry was going to take whatever chance he could to kiss Louis, because, well, why wouldn't he?

He could hear the crowds cheering and the fireworks going off through the television and he could also hear Niall gasping in the background, but all that mattered to him was that he was kissing Louis and Louis was _kissing back_. 

Harry could have done this forever, but he eventually pulled back after a few seconds, eyes wide and suddenly nervous for Louis' reaction. He didn't really have time to see it, though, because the first thing that crashed into him was Niall's reaction.

"OHMYGODYOUGUYSARESOCUTE!" Niall was practically screaming at the top of his lungs and Louis lunged at him, trying to cover Niall's mouth but failing. "Louis, don't try to silence me! You guys are so cute!"

"I'm going to have to agree with Ni, look at you guys." Zayn had a huge grin on his face. "See, you're both blushing so hard right now!"

Harry's face was indeed heating up and he pressed his palms to his cheeks. "Um, well."

Niall tried to remove Louis from on top of himself. "Can you guys kiss again? I don't think I was able to fully appreciate the first time—"

"Okay, I think that's enough, Niall." Zayn crawled over and dragged Niall away from Louis. "Stop embarrassing them, idiot."

"I wasn't trying to," Niall protested, but he was shushed by Zayn.

Later, when things had calmed down a little and the boys were getting ready to finally go to bed, Harry caught a moment alone with Louis while the other boys were somewhere else and approached him shyly. "Hey..."

Louis had been arranging his blankets and pillows to make sure his sleeping spot was nice and comfy, and he looked up at Harry. "Hey."

"So, listen." Harry sat down cross-legged on his mattress and took a deep breath. "I know we're sort of... in the awkward stages of things, and I uh, hope the kiss was okay? I-I should've asked you for permission first, but it was just, you know, New Year's and I got caught up in the moment, but I won't do it again if you don't want me to." Louis was just staring at him wordlessly and it only made Harry feel even more flustered. "So, I guess what I'm trying to say, is, uh, are we okay?"

Louis tilted his head cutely and said reassuringly, "Yeah, we're okay. The k-kiss was perfectly fine, you don't have to worry about it."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

The other boys were returning to the living room so they stopped talking and settled into their mattresses. Louis curled up into a tiny ball like a kitten and was swallowed up in the blankets and pillows, looking so cuddly and squishy that Harry just wanted to pinch his cheeks.

It was a new year, and Harry knew he was starting it off the right way - with him kissing Louis, and he hoped he'd be able to do it a few more times in the next twelve months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i started a youtube channel where i post informative/analytical videos about larry/1d, so it would mean a lot to me if you checked it out! my user is the28thofseptember :)


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know this is literally a repeat of the previous sleepover scene but bear with me, i can only think of so many cute ideas 
> 
> and i rush-wrote this because i started writing it way too late so i'm sorry if it's a bit of a mess, especially the ending!

When Harry woke up, he realized was spooning Louis.

He had his arm wrapped around Louis' waist and his face buried into the crook of Louis' neck, and he didn't even remember moving to cuddle Louis. Well, he was a little less surprised this time, because during the last sleepover he'd apparently moved across Niall's mattress in his sleep just to cuddle Louis, so why wouldn't it happen this time? As Niall had said, it was like Harry automatically gravitated towards Louis when he had the chance... even in his sleep.

A few weeks ago at the last sleepover, when he realized he'd been cuddling Louis, Harry had almost automatically let go of him and rolled away, but... Harry didn't _want_ to now. Louis was so soft and huggable and it just felt so right to have him tucked into Harry's arms. Plus, today there was no Niall standing over them and grinning like a madman - it was morning, but everyone else was asleep and Harry felt calm and peaceful with Louis in his arms. He didn't want to let go.

Louis had snuggled back into Harry's body too, one petite hand resting on the arm that was wrapped around his waist and quiet little puffs of air leaving his mouth. It was too perfect - Harry wanted to stay like this forever.

Then, suddenly, Louis made a soft noise and shifted in his sleep, rolling over so that he was now facing Harry and snuggling closer to Harry's chest. Harry held his breath, admiring how beautiful Louis looked, when Louis' eyes slowly fluttered open and he blinked sleepily up at Harry. When he realized what was happening, he squeaked and his eyes widened. "H-Hazzie?"

"Hi." Harry felt his cheeks heating up, not really knowing what to do now that he'd been caught, but still not wanting to let go of Louis. His voice was still raspy from sleep and he sincerely hoped he didn't have morning breath. "I, um, I didn't cuddle you on purpose, I sort of... did it in my sleep? I'll stop if it makes you uncomfortable." Neither of them made any move to stop cuddling though, and they continued to lay there, Harry's arms still around Louis and Louis still impossibly close to Harry's chest.

"I, um." Louis' cheeks, like Harry's, were bright red, but his blue eyes sparkled softly. "It doesn't make me uncomfortable. Actually, it's, uh, really comfortable."

Harry felt relieved and his body relaxed a little - he hadn't realized he'd tensed up. "So... cuddling is on the table?"

Louis pondered it for a few seconds and nodded. "Y-yeah, I guess so."

Harry decided to try to push his luck. "Is... is hand holding on the table, then?"

Louis' cheeks reddened even more and he broke his eye contact with Harry, looking away shyly. "Um, if you want to."

"You don't sound very sure." Harry didn't mean to come off as rude - he regretted not saying it in a nicer way - he was just worried that Louis was agreeing to something he didn't want to do, just because Harry had suggested it.

"No, no, I'm sure!" Louis said quickly, eyes meeting Harry's again and looking a little upset. "I'm just, you know, a little nervous."

"Okay, it's okay." Harry unconsciously rubbed Louis' back gently to help calm him down. "Sorry. Didn't mean to sound snappish." He had the urge to lean down and kiss Louis, but maybe that was too much. After all, they'd only been on one date, although Harry was already ready to give up everything for Louis. No, he definitely wasn't infatuated with the smaller boy.

They settled into a comfortable silence and Louis rested his head on Harry's chest, curling up a little and making quiet, snuffling sounds into Harry's shirt. It was still early in the morning and everyone else wouldn't be up for a few hours, so Louis slowly fell back into his slumber, cheek pressed against Harry's shirt. Harry tried his best to stay awake to just appreciate the feeling of Louis in his arms, Louis' warmth and smell soon lulled him into sleep too.

*****

Their Christmas break ended a couple of days later, and a rather disgruntled Harry marched back to school. School meant friends, but it also meant waking up early, and Harry wasn't exactly a fan of that.

One thing he was really looking forward to, though, was spending more time with Louis. They'd be seeing each other practically every day and sharing classes, and of course they shared an extra-curricular. Now that Harry had - somewhat, at least - gotten over the initial jitters of confessing to Louis, he desperately wanted to get closer to the blue-eyed boy as much as he could.

On the morning of their first day back, Harry managed to locate Louis at his locker. The smaller boy was surrounded by Niall and Zayn, who were chatting with him and laughing, but as soon as they saw Harry approaching, they excused themselves and walked off.

"Hi, Harry! Bye, Harry! See you in class, Lou!" Zayn called as the pair walked away, leaving a slightly bewildered Louis by himself at his locker.

Harry shot them a weirded out look, but focused his attention onto Louis once he reached the locker. "Hi."

"Hey, Harry." Louis shot one last glance at the retreating backs of his friends and turned back to putting a few books into his locker.

"We have English for first period, right?"

"Umm..." Louis scrunched his nose up as he thought for a few seconds. "Yep."

"I'll walk with you to class, then." Harry shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned against the lockers as he waited for Louis to finish packing his things.

"We don't have any homework for English, right?" Louis paused and tapped his fingers against his locker, surveying the pile of books inside.

Harry racked his brain. "I don't think so?"

Louis squinted at him. "You sure?"

"Yeah."

" _Sure_ sure?"

Harry rolled his eyes playfully. "Yes, I'm sure, Lou. Are you done?"

"Mhmm." Louis closed his locker door, zipped up his bag, and slung his bag over his shoulder. "C'mon!"

Harry obediently followed Louis as they walked to their English classroom, greeting several of his friends and acquaintances he passed by in the hallway. Louis ambled next to him awkwardly, having not being close to any of Harry's friend and starting to feel a little overwhelmed by how many people were grinning at Harry, then casting slightly confused looks at Louis, like they didn't know why Louis was there, or even who he was. After a minute or two, Harry finally realized Louis was uncomfortable and he'd practically been neglecting the smaller boy in favor of greeting his other friends, so he immediately focused on Louis again. "Sorry, just a lot of friends I haven't seen over the break."

"I noticed," Louis said quietly, staring at his shoes, and Harry frowned at how reserved Louis was becoming again.

"You okay?"

Louis' head shot up and his cheeks flushed a little in embarrassment. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just, uh, not a fan of talking to a lot of people. And, you know, you're sort of the school's popular golden boy. You're _always_ surrounded by people."

"Oh." Harry simply stared. Did that mean - did that mean he and Louis weren't compatible? No - Harry didn't even want to think about it. Well, it was true that Harry was often surrounded by people and Louis was a quiet, reserved person, but that didn't mean Harry didn't appreciate quieter, more intimate situations. Some of this favorite moments had been spent alone, or only with one or two of his close friends and family. 

He was still trying to think of something to say when Louis burst out, "I'm sorry, I made it sound like you had a problem or something - just forget I said that, okay? I didn't mean it like that. I-I don't want you to think badly of me."

"I don't," Harry assured Louis honestly, just as they arrived outside their English classroom. Deciding to try to change the subject, he said, "Um, are you excited that school's starting again?"

Louis scoffed. "No. Is anyone? I had to wake up so much earlier this morning and I'm _tired_." As if to prove his point, Louis rubbed his eyes and made a pouty expression, eyebrows furrowing. 

Harry couldn't resist letting out a long 'aww'. "You're adorable, babe."

Babe. _Babe._ Harry's mouth stung from slapping his hand across it so quickly and his overthinking immediately went into overdrive. He definitely hadn't meant to say that - alright, he'd admit that he'd dreamed about calling Louis a plethora of pet names, but he hadn't actually meant to do it... yet. They'd only been on one date together, for heaven's sake, and it was way too soon. It had slipped out of his mouth easily, simply felt so _right_ , but Louis was going to be creeped out by him now and Harry wished he could rewind the tape and erase the pet name from Louis' memory.

Louis was staring at him, mouth hanging open a little and his face growing progressively pinker. Harry was mentally beating himself up, wondering what his next move should be, when a familiar voice called out, "Hey, Styles!"

Harry closed his eyes. Now was not the time. Now was really, _really_ not the time for Nick Grimshaw.

But of course, Nick didn't know and didn't care what would be a good time for him, and he strode towards Harry and Louis anyway. "Harry! I didn't see you for the entire holiday, what's up with that, huh?"

Harry gritted his teeth and forced a smile. "I was busy, I guess." After finding out how rude and insulting Nick had been to Louis, he hadn't really been in the mood to hang out with him. The rest of his friends - Liam, Cara, Demi, Stan, the whole group - didn't have a problem with not including Nick, so Harry had managed to spend time with his friends (and Louis, of course) for two weeks without any hint of Nick in his life. 

Louis was backing away from Nick step by step, probably not wanting to be around the person that had insulted him several times before. Harry panicked, not wanting Louis to go. He was supposed to get closer to the smaller boy, not accidentally push him away with the presence of a so-called "friend".

"Well, it's been too long. Are you free after school today? Let's hang out!" Nick suggested.

"Uh, I'll have to get back to you on that," Harry said distractedly, turning around to look as Louis slowly slunk away from them, quite a distance from where students would usually wait outside the room. "Excuse me for a bit, will you?" He jogged after Louis and grabbed his wrist, succeeding in stopping Louis' movement. "Hey, where are you going? We've got class in five minutes, remember?"

"I know." Louis wrapped his arms around his middle, an unconscious effort to comfort himself. "I just... don't want to be around _him_."

"I get it, I don't really want to around him either," Harry admitted, lowering his voice so Nick wouldn't hear, although he was already out of earshot. "Lou, I'm sorry he was mean to you before... just ignore him, okay? And if he's mean to you again, or if anyone's mean to you again, I'll protect you, I promise."

"Pinky promise?" Louis held up a pinky and looked up at Harry expectantly with his big, blue eyes.

"Pinky promise." Harry linked his pinky with Louis' and smiled. 

"By the way, um." Louis released Harry's pinky and the taller boy felt a rush of sadness. He hadn't been ready to let go of Louis yet. " _Are_ you free after school today?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I was thinking, um." Louis fiddled with the hem of his sweater. "W-we could have a-a movie night? Just the two of us?"

Harry blinked, and the candid words slipped straight out of his mouth. "Like a second date?"

Louis coughed. "Something along those lines, yeah."

"I'd love to, boo." _There goes another accidental pet name_. "I mean, uh, Lou."

Louis tilted his head, face emotionless although his cheeks were flushed again. "Can we go to your house this time? My house is a little too chaotic for a proper movie night, my sisters are bound to interrupt."

"Yeah, of course. We can build a blanket fort!" Harry said excitedly, and Louis giggled. 

"Sounds fun, you two," Zayn drawled, popping up out of nowhere. "But come on, Mr. Jackson's here. Let's get inside."

*****

Harry somehow managed to avoid Nick for the rest of the school day, and at the end of it he met Louis at the tiny boy's locker. Liam had heard about Louis and Harry's upcoming second date and had already left with another group of friends to give Harry some alone time with Louis. Similarly, Niall and Zayn were nowhere in sight, which Harry had to admit made him a little nervous.

As he and Louis walked down the street back home, Harry was itching to hold Louis' hand. The two had confirmed that hand holding was on the table, right? He hadn't done it at school, because - well, nearly everyone he knew would see it, and neither he nor Louis were really ready to let the whole campus know. But now they were trotting down a relatively empty pavement with no other classmates in sight, so...

Before he could make up his mind on whether holding Louis' hand would be a good idea, Louis stretched his little hand out and linked their pinkies together. Harry automatically curled his pinky finger around Louis' and tried to hide the wide grin that was currently trying to spread all over his face.

It would be too early to start their movie night now, so the two went back home first, Louis doing a little bit of homework first and Harry trying to clean up the whole house so Louis wouldn't be appalled at any messiness. A little while after dinner, Harry made his way to the Tomlinsons' house to pick Louis up, and was met by a very cute-looking Louis hugging a few snacks to his chest. "Hi."

"Hi, Lou. Those snacks are for movie night, right?"

"Mhmm. I raided our snack drawer and when the girls notice, they'll be a little upset, to say the least."

"We'll buy them some replacement snacks, they'll never have to know." Harry took some of the snacks from Louis' arms to lighten his load, and the two started walking as soon as Louis said goodbye to his mother. 

They soon arrived at Harry's house, and Harry tried his best to ignore the fact that Gemma was continuously wriggling her eyebrows at Harry suggestively when she thought Louis wasn't looking.

"Hi, Louis, it's nice to see you again!" Gemma waved at Louis and Louis waved back shyly.

"Hi, Gemma."

"I hear you two are having a movie night, that sounds nice! You guys should try watching—"

"Gems, leave us alone," Harry said, setting the snacks down on the coffee table. "Don't you have something else to do?"

"Jeez, you don't have to be so _rude_ about it, H." Gemma wriggled her eyebrows one last time and started walking up the stairs, a mug of tea in hand. "Have fun, you two."

Per Harry's suggestion, they found a few blankets and pillows and created a tiny little blanket fort they could get comfy in while they watched a few movies. Louis plopped down in the middle of it and Harry joined him, grabbing the television remote. "What do you wanna watch?"

"Nothing scary," Louis said, drawing his knees to his chest. " _Lion King_? Please?"

"Okay, love." Harry put the movie on and settled into the fort, grabbing a mini bag of crisps Louis had brought. Louis, meanwhile, had a bar of chocolate in his hand and rested his head onto Harry's shoulder as the movie started.

Louis hummed all of the songs as they played, bopping his head along. His fringe kept bouncing up and down as his head moved and Harry was having a hard time concentrating on the movie when such an adorable sight was happening right next to him. Halfway through the movie, Louis finally noticed that Harry had been gazing at him, and he sat up straight, removing his head from Harry's shoulder. "What is it?"

"You're really cute, did you know that?"

Louis let out a little huff of laughter and the most endearing beam appeared on his lips. He settled his head back onto Harry's shoulder and scooted a little closer, pressing the rest of his body against Harry's.

After _Lion King_ , Harry chose _Peter Pan_ , since they were already on the Disney route. With a warm, cuddly body tucked in next to him, he was already a little drowsy and he was pretty sure Louis was a little bit sleepy too, but they soldiered on. They'd both finished eating their snacks and now that their hands were free, they'd wordlessly migrated to each other and cuddled. Louis was half sitting on Harry's lap and Harry had both of his arms wrapped tightly around him, holding him close.

Towards the end, Harry finally succumbed to his tiredness and he fell asleep, head dropping and resting on top of Louis' head. He didn't even notice himself falling asleep - he was such in a comfortable position - so it was a little disorientating when he woke up to Louis trying to carefully leave Harry's embrace.

"Where-where you goin'?" Harry slurred, making a futile attempt to grab Louis back.

"I need to go back home, Hazzie," Louis explained quietly.

This saddened Harry. "Can't you stay the night?"

"I can't, we've got school tomorrow," Louis whispered, kneeling next to the half-asleep Harry. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Mm... okay."

"Nighty night, love." Louis bent down and placed a soft kiss on Harry's cheek, and the last thing Harry remembered before he slipped into slumber once again.


	30. Chapter 30

The football team had been amping up their training for ages, and now that their big game was finally here, Harry didn't know how to feel.

They'd been training and building up anticipation for the game for so long, so Harry was looking forward to finally getting it over with so he could stop worrying about it all the time. But he was anxious too - losing this game would be a huge disappointment after weeks and weeks of intense training. Plus, their coach had told them they would be playing in front of a huge crowd... a huge crowd that included Louis.

As he'd promised during their New Year's Eve sleepover, Louis had assured Harry he'd be going to their game to support Harry. No matter how much it warmed Harry's heart that Louis wanted to come and cheer him on, he knew it was just going to make him nervous during the game, more than he already would be. And if Harry messed up in front of Louis and lost the game, he would never, ever be able to get over the sheer horror and embarrassment.

A day before the game, Harry was leaving the locker room after another tiring and intense training session. He was drenched in sweat and he hadn't bothered to shower in the locker room because, first of all, most of the showers were occupied by the rest of his teammates, and second, he planned on showering once he got back home. Almost two hours of constantly running around had left him exhausted and sticky and gross, which was why he was mortified when he saw Louis waiting outside the locker room. "L-Lou?"

"Hi, Harry!" Louis waved happily and ran up to Harry, who subconsciously took a step back because he didn't exactly look or smell good at that moment, and he definitely didn't want Louis to notice.

"Hey, Lou. W-what are you doing here? I thought you would've gone home ages ago."

"I was waiting for you."

Harry blanched. "Waiting? For me? But school ended two hours ago!"

"I know. Zayn and I were working on this in the library." Louis pulled out something from behind him and revealed a banner that read _Go Panthers!_ \- Panthers was the name of their football team - in large bubble letters and was accompanied by a detailed drawing of a growling panther, which Zayn had presumably drawn.

"Whoa, Lou! You and Zayn made this?" Harry reached out to get a closer look at the banner, holding it carefully.

"Mhmm, it's for tomorrow's game," Louis explained. He pulled out two other banners, each saying _Go Harry!_ and _Go Niall!_ respectively. Harry's heart melted when Louis lifted them up for Harry to see and said cheerfully, "See, we made these for you guys too! Zayn's still in the library, putting the finishing touches on Liam's one. Then we'll have all the banners ready for tomorrow!"

"Aw, you guys shouldn't have. These look amazing!"

"Well, we thought they'd be fun to make, and we wanted to show our support for you guys, you know?" Louis carefully rolled up all of the banners so they wouldn't get crumpled or folded. 

"You guys are too sweet." Harry resisted from giving Louis a huge bear hug to show his appreciation. "Why were you waiting for me, by the way?"

"I wanted to wish you luck for tomorrow." Louis wrapped a few rubber bands around each banner. "I was going to do it straight after school ended, but... I forgot. By the time I remembered, you were already in football practice."

Harry chuckled. "You could've just texted me, you know? Or you could have done it tomorrow morning. No need to wait two whole hours in the library."

"I wanted to say it in person!" Louis protested. "And I _know_ I could've done it tomorrow morning, dumbo. Zayn and I were making the banners anyway, and I thought I would come over to wish you luck before you went home, so good luck! I know you and Niall and Liam and the whole team are gonna crush it tomorrow."

"Thanks, Lou!" Harry grinned. "Hopefully we will, we've been training almost every day for weeks and weeks."

"I know, Niall keeps complaining to me about it. He's glad the game will be over soon so he can relax a little before the next big game."

"Me too, actually." Harry looked around to make sure his coach wasn't anywhere close when he said, "I've been sore every single day for the last few weeks from the amount of training coach makes us do. I wish he'd loosen up a little, he'll kill us before the next game."

"Good thing I'm not on the football team, then."

Harry pouted. "No, you should join the tryouts next year! You're really good at football, we need good players like you. Please?"

Louis shook his head and his soft hair flopped around a little bit. "Nope. Hearing you and Niall whine about football training has convinced me to never join."

"Hey!" Harry folded his arms playfully. "I was _not_ whining."

Louis tilted his head and looked at Harry skeptically, but then laughed. "Anyway, I've got to get back to the library and help Zayn finish Liam's banner. See you tomorrow, Haribo."

"Bye bye, Lou."

Louis hesitated a bit then stepped closer, got on his tip toes, and planted a kiss on Harry's cheek. Harry felt his whole body tense up and he really, really wished he had sprayed some deodorant on before he left the locker room, but if Louis noticed how sweaty and gross Harry was, he didn't say anything. Harry almost felt sad when Louis stepped back, said shyly, "Good luck tomorrow!", and disappeared into the hallway.

The game was to be held after school, so Harry was jittery and anxious for the entire day. He couldn't sit still and he couldn't really pay attention in class, either. The teachers let him and his teammates be - they all understood how nervous the players got before a game - so Harry just spent most of his day sitting at a desk, staring blankly at the board and worrying about football. He knew they were as prepared as they could be, but he still didn't feel ready at all. Besides, he was captain, which just put more pressure on him. If they lost, he knew people would be blaming it on him, no matter if it was really his fault or not.

The only thing that helped to calm him down a little was Louis' presence. It was funny - being around Louis usually made him tense and nervous but now the smaller boy's presence seemed to relax him and take his mind off the game. It was like the smaller boy was Harry's rock, his anchor, his—

"Harry? Harry." Louis was waving his tiny hand in front of Harry's face and repeatedly saying his name. "Haribo?"

"Huh?" Harry realized he'd been staring at the front of the classroom, completely silent and with his mouth hanging open, for the past few minutes.

"You okay?" Louis looked concerned. "You weren't responding to anything I was saying."

"Yeah, uh, sorry, just got distracted." Harry let his pen clatter out of his hand and onto the table, and the sound managed to shock him out of his daze a little more.

"Hmmm." Louis stared at Harry for a few seconds, then turned back to the Petri dish in his hands. "Can you get some syringes? They're in the grey drawer at the other end of the classroom, we need three of them."

"Yeah, yeah, sure." Harry hopped off his stool and returned a few seconds later with a few syringes for their biology experiment. Louis had seemed to sense Harry's anxiety and wisely hadn't mentioned the game at all, which Harry was grateful for. Plus, Louis was looking extra soft and smelled extra good today, which definitely helped to take Harry's mind off the game.

Football players were allowed to skip the last period so that they could get warmed up and their coach could give them a pep talk, and Harry, Niall, Liam and the rest of the players left their classrooms accordingly and headed towards the locker room to get changed.

"You ready for this?" Niall slipped on his trainers and tied his shoelaces.

"Definitely not." Harry folded up his clothes and put them into his locker. "I haven't been able to focus for the whole day and I'm freaking _out_."

"At least you guys are used to stuff like this." Niall shivered. "I haven't played a proper game in years. And with all these people watching!"

"You'll be fine, Niall, just don't let the crowd distract you," Liam said.

"Louis and Zayn made banners for us, did you know that?" Harry closed his locker door shut after checking he had everything he needed.

"Ugh, I know, they showed them to me. It just raises the stakes, it would be awful if we lost and disappointed them." Niall looked a little pale as he got up and followed the rest of the players out of the locker room.

"Relax, you guys," Liam instructed, jogging out onto the field. "Stop worrying about things like that and _focus_. Harry, c'mon, you're the captain and you're supposed to lead our warm ups."

*****

An hour or two later, school had ended and people were already pouring into the stands. Harry could see Anne and Gemma taking their seats near the front, and he also managed to spot Zayn and Louis, along with... Jay and Louis' sisters?

"What are they doing here?" Harry was bewildered, staring at them with his jaw hanging open.

"Once they heard you were going to be in a football game, they insisted on coming to cheer you on," Niall shrugged. "Never seen them display so much energy and excitement for _me_."

"It's cute they wanted to come to see you, isn't it?" Liam asked, smiling.

"Um, yeah, sure." It _was_ cute, but if Harry lost this game, he would be failing in front of practically everyone he knew, which now literally included his crush's mother and little sisters. He wondered what he'd done to upset the gods in his previous life to deserve something like this.

At the start of the game, out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see Louis and Zayn handing out their banners to the girls. Louis ended up with Harry's banner and was holding it up proudly, chanting slogans along with the rest of the crowd. Harry looked up and his eyes met with Louis', who waved vigorously and brandished the banner for Harry to see. Harry couldn't help grinning and he flashed Louis a thumbs up before he had to turn his attention back to the game again.

Harry was already drenched in sweat halfway through the game, and he chugged down almost a whole bottle of water at halftime. They were ahead 2-1, so the whole team was feeling pretty good about themselves, although of course they'd still be playing as hard as they could. After receiving another pep talk from their coach and giving one himself to his team, they headed out onto the field again, tired and sweaty, but the cheers from the crowd kept them going. And of course, the fact that Louis was cheering for him kept Harry going.

Near the end of the game, they had five minutes left and the two teams were tied 2-2. Harry was absolutely exhausted and all he wanted was to take a shower and sleep in his bed - all he had to do was get through these last five minutes, hopefully win, then go home. The opposing team had the ball and a player was dribbling it towards the goal, where he was bound to pass by where Harry was standing. 

Breathless but determined, Harry started jogging towards the player, picking up speed and running. The player swerved to try to avoid Harry but Harry managed to get close and steal the ball from under the player's feet, dribbling it forward past the opposing player towards the other goal. He could faintly make out cheers and screams of his name, things like _Go Harry!_ and _Yeah, Harry, you got this!_

His mind was hazy and his legs felt like lead but he kept going, dashing across the pitch and passing the ball over to Ricky, who was much closer to the goal and honestly, a better shot. Once Rick had gotten the ball, Harry came to a stop, watching with bated breath - this was going to make them or break them. When the ball shot past the goalie and into the net, he almost fell on his knees with relief.

They still had a few minutes left in the game, but everyone knew that the fate of the game was already sealed. When it was all over, the crowd was chanting "Pan-thers! Pan-thers!" and hordes of people were rushing down from the stands to congratulate the players. Harry could see Louis coming down and running towards him with a huge beam on his face, but before Louis could reach him, a group of people smashed into him.

"Harry! Oh my God! You guys were awesome!" someone shouted into Harry's ear, and Harry could vaguely recognize the voice as Stan's.

"We thought you weren't going to win, but you and Ricky made that miraculous goal in the literal last five minutes!" Selena added, clapping Harry on the shoulder.

"Thanks, you guys." Harry was surrounded by a mob of his friends and he lost sight of Louis, too occupied by his friends' praises. He finally managed to pry himself away from them a few minutes later, but he couldn't find Louis anywhere.

"Niall! Have you seen Louis?!" he called to the blonde over the din.

"Think he went to the bathroom or something!" Niall yelled back, and Harry pushed his way through the crowd to get back into the school building so he could go find Louis.

The cold air of the school air conditioning was a relief after all of the running and sweating, and he headed towards the nearest bathroom, which he found soon enough. As he approached it, the door opened and instead of a tiny, blue-eyed boy emerging from behind it, Nick Grimshaw appeared. He looked almost frightened to see Harry there, but quickly masked it with a huge smile. "Congratulations on the game, Harry! You were fantastic!"

"Um, yeah, thanks, Nick."

"I'll talk to you when you're done in the bathroom, I've got to go congratulate the others. See you later, H!" Nick waved goodbye and jogged towards the direction of the pitch, and Harry sighed in relief. He was too tired to deal with Nick.

He pushed the door open and, true to Niall's word, Louis was inside. But he was leaning against the sink with his face in his hands, his body shaking, and Harry was immediately concerned. "Lou? You okay?"

Louis looked up and his eyes widened. "H-Harry?" His big, blue eyes were watery and red, which immediately set off alarms in Harry's mind. Louis was upset when he shouldn't be and Harry was going to do whatever he could to try to fix it.

"Lou, what happened?" He rushed towards Louis and wrapped his arms around him, forgetting that he was all sticky and sweaty from the game.

"N-nothing," Louis stuttered, but the wet, shaky sniffle he made straight afterwards said otherwise. Louis bit his trembling lower lip in a valiant effort to get himself to stop crying, but there were still tears streaming steadily down his face.

"Hey, hey, love, don't hurt yourself." Harry tenderly removed Louis' bottom lip from the grips of his teeth with the pad of his thumb, his other hand rubbing Louis' waist soothingly.

Louis buried his head into Harry's chest and let out a loud sob, gripping onto Harry's shirt tightly. Harry held him closer and dropped a few kisses into Louis' hair to calm him down, murmuring, "It's okay, Lou. Let it all out." Although he was trying his best to stay calm for Louis, he was panicking internally. What had happened? Was this Harry's fault? What was he supposed to do? Louis was the sweetest, kindest person in the world and he didn't deserve any kind of sadness.

Louis was reduced to a quiet sniffles and hiccups a few minutes later, but he refused to leave Harry's arms, still clutching Harry tightly as Harry swayed them from side to side gently. A few more minutes and a few more comforting words later, Louis finally removed his face from Harry's chest with a rather embarrassed expression. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to get your shirt all w-wet."

"Louis, you don't have to apologize for anything," Harry said gently. "Are you okay? Are you feeling better now?"

Louis nodded and wiped away the wetness on his cheeks. "Mm."

"Good, good." Harry exhaled and brushed a piece of Louis' soft hair off his forehead. "Do you wanna tell me what happened?"

Louis shook his head.

Harry wanted to know what had made Louis cry so he could help Louis, but he also knew he couldn't push the smaller boy too much. "Okay. Do you wanna go home?"

Louis nodded again.

"C'mon, then." Harry wrapped one arm around Louis' waist and slowly led him to the bathroom door. "I'll take you home, babe."

Louis didn't even seem to mind the pet name and tucked himself into Harry's side, letting the taller boy lead him out of the building. They managed to evade the cheering crowds without being seen and hopped onto a bus, where Harry only just realized he'd left most of his things at school, in the locker room. Luckily for him, he still had his phone in his pocket, since he'd slipped it in there once the game was over. The phone buzzed and displayed a text from Liam, who was confused and concerned about Harry's whereabouts and was asking Harry where he'd gone.

The text message caught Louis' eyes and he gasped, sitting up straight. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, you should be at school right now celebrating with everyone. I can go home by myself, I-"

"Lou, calm down, it's alright." Harry typed a message back to Liam explaining what had happened and telling him to tell Jay so she wouldn't be worried. "Celebrating the win doesn't matter to me."

"B-but you're the captain."

"So?"

"So you should be with the rest of your team right now, not with stupid crybaby me," Louis mumbled.

"Hey, don't think of yourself like that," Harry reprimanded. "Louis, stop it. It's my choice to be here with you and make sure you're alright."

"You make dumb choices."

Harry huffed out a laugh and playfully pinched Louis' side, making Louis squeal. "If making dumb choices means spending more time with you and making sure you're alright, I'll gladly make all the dumb choices I can."


	31. Chapter 31

A sniffling Louis and a sympathetic Harry hopped off the bus at Louis' stop, fingers tangled together and their sides pressed close.

"It's okay, Lou, we're nearly there," Harry encouraged the slightly teary-eyed Louis as they started walking down the pavement towards the direction of Louis' house.

"Mmm." Louis rubbed his eye with his free hand and Harry rubbed the back of Louis' other hand comfortingly. "Sorry I made you take me home, Haribo. You should be with the rest of them, celebrating."

"I told you, the celebration doesn't matter to me," Harry said honestly.

"Well, I'm sure the celebration would be a lot more fun than babysitting me."

"Louis, stop that. You're my first priority." Okay, maybe Harry was being a little _too_ honest, but Louis blushed at his words, which Harry was going to tentatively label as a success.

When they reached the front door, Louis unlocked it and Harry ushered him in. Once inside the safety of his own home, Louis emitted a huge yawn, mouth open wide and reminding Harry of a kitten. "Tired, love?"

"Little bit," Louis admitted, rubbing his eyes again. "Crying makes me sleepy."

It would've been a cute statement if it wasn't so concerning that Louis had been crying - Louis seemed better now, but Harry wasn't going to assume Louis was fine just because he _seemed_ fine. "You feeling okay?" 

Louis nodded. "Just tired."

"Wanna take a nap?"

"Okey dokey."

"Come on, then, let's get you to bed." Harry wrapped an arm around Louis' waist and guided the yawning boy upstairs to his bedroom, where Louis quickly changed into his pajamas (while Harry waited outside, of course), took off his glasses and slipped under the sheets, curling up into a tiny ball adorably.

Harry leaned down to help tuck Louis in, making sure the smaller boy was comfy and cozy - caring for Louis was like a natural instinct and it felt so normal to him. Once he was sure Louis was properly tucked in, he straightened up. "I guess I'll be going now, see you at school!" He turned and was about to walk out of Louis' room when the sound of a tiny little voice stopped him.

"H-Harry?"

"Hmm?" Harry turned around again to look at Louis.

"If you don't mind, could you s-stay for a little bit?" Louis requested shyly, giving Harry his best puppy eyes and his cheeks rosy. And who was Harry to deny such an irresistible wish?

He shifted the chair by Louis' desk so it was next to the bed and sat down, melting at how cute a drowsy Louis looked. Louis was blinking rapidly, valiantly trying to stay awake for a little longer, but it was a battle he was definitely losing. Harry stifled a laugh and said, "If you're tired you should sleep, boo."

"Sounds like a good idea," Louis mumbled, his words muffled because his blanket was covering his lips.

"You are aware that was what you were supposed to do when you got in bed, right?"

Louis glared at Harry but glaring was apparently a task for people who were more awake, because a few seconds of glaring later, his eyes fluttered shut and his whole body visibly relaxed, sinking a little deeper into the bed.

Unable to resist, Harry reached his hand out and gently stroked Louis' fluffy hair, an action which the blue-eyed boy seemed to appreciate. Louis made a little happy sound and his head shifted closer to Harry's hand. Harry refrained from 'aww'ing out loud and continued to stroke Louis' hair until Louis' breathing evened out and it was clear he was asleep.

He sat there for a little longer, just watching Louis sleeping - no, he wasn't a creep (probably), it was simply so calming and soothing. And, yes, Louis did look very endearing while he was sleeping, just like he did when he was doing practically anything else.

Harry deemed it was finally time for him to go a while later so he put Louis' chair back as quietly as he could and checked that there wasn't anything dangerous like a burning candle in Louis' room. When he was done, he bent down next to Louis' bed and gave him one last kiss on his forehead before he left the Tomlinsons' house, closing the doors behind him.

As Harry was walking down the path back to his own house, he vowed to murder whatever or whoever hade made Louis cry. The protective feeling had sparked off in his chest and he was hellbent on protecting Louis from anything that upset him or hurt him. Louis was too precious and it hurt Harry to see him so down.

His plan, however, was foiled by the fact that Louis earnestly refused to tell Harry anything about what had happened. He'd let it go the day it had happened, knowing he shouldn't push Louis too much when he was in such a vulnerable state, but in the days after, his curiosity and concern for Louis skyrocketed.

"Louis, can you please tell me what happened?" They were curled up on top of Louis' couch, Louis having invited Harry over to watch some movies together.

The blue-eyed boy immediately sobered up at the mention of his breakdown in the bathroom, drawing his knees to his chest and avoiding eye contact with Harry. "None of your business."

Harry felt a little hurt at that, but he understood where Louis was coming from and soldiered on. "I know it's none of my business, Lou, but... I'm worried about you."

Louis seemed to soften and shifted a little closer to Harry so their sides were touching. " _Nothing_ happened, Harry. I was just being silly."

Harry frowned a little. For some reason, his gut was telling him that Louis was lying and was hiding something. "You sure?"

"Mhmm."

"Really sure?"

Louis shot him a look. "Harold."

"That's not even my name, my name's just Harry."

"I don't care."

Harry pinched Louis' side and Louis tried to lean away from Harry to get away from the pinches, batting away Harry's hand. "Don't sass me, Tomlinson." Louis giggled and Harry relaxed, but he asked Louis again to double check. "You sure you're okay? You sure I didn't do anything?"

"Yes, I'm sure. It had nothing to do with you... mostly." Louis added the last word on as an afterthought, muttered under his breath as if he hadn't exactly meant for Harry to hear it, but Harry tensed up when he heard he wasn't entirely unrelated to whatever had made Louis cry.

"What does that mean? What did I do? Tell me and I'll fix it, I'm so sorry, I—"

"Harry," Louis interrupted. "It wasn't anything you did. It wasn't your fault, okay?"

Harry folded his arms. "So there _was_ something that happened?"

Louis' cheeks flushed. "I didn't say that! And it's none of your business."

Harry sighed and uncrossed his arms. "Okay, okay. Just - I'm here if you ever need me, y'know?"

"I know. And it's very sweet of you, Harold." Louis leaned up and pecked Harry on the cheek, which succeeded in shutting him up - for a few seconds, anyway. "Can we watch some movies now, please? The girls will be back in a few hours and this is the only peace and quiet we'll get."

"Yes, sir." Harry jokingly saluted Louis and hopped off the couch to go put on a movie, but quickly returned to his seat so Louis could put his head on his shoulder and he could discreetly wrap an arm around Louis' waist as they watched the movie.

*****

For their third date, Harry decided that he was going to take Louis out to dinner. And not to just to any restaurant - to the second most fancy restaurant he could afford, _The Twin Pine Kitchen_. Ice skating rinks and move nights were all very good, but Harry decided it was time to take Louis on the most classic date of all: dinner at a fancy restaurant.

Louis seemed a little hesitant to go at first. "You sure?"

"Yeah, why not?" Harry's confidence was slowly faltering and his hands were getting sweaty. "Do you not want to go to dinner with me?"

"No, I do! I wanna go to dinner with you," Louis said quickly, cheeks flushing. "Just... you know... _The Twin Pine_ is sort of expensive?"

"I could pay for you, if you want," Harry offered, relieved that Louis _did_ want to go on a dinner date with him.

"No! You can't do that!" Louis protested almost immediately.

"It's just one meal, it's not a big deal, Lou."

"But... Hazzie." Louis pouted and Harry was really, really no match for something as cute as Louis' pout and a nickname.

"Okay, okay. We can go somewhere a little less expensive if you like, love."

"Good. _The Lonely Fish_?" Louis suggested, which Harry promptly agreed to. The next item on their imaginary list of things to sort out was, apparently, clothes. "What should I wear?" Louis seemed especially worried about this, having never gone on a dinner date before.

"Wear whatever you want, it doesn't really matter."

"But... like... aren't we supposed to wear fancy clothes? That's what people do in the movies."

"There's no official etiquette for dinner date fashion, love. Seriously, just wear whatever you like, don't worry about it." Although Harry was saying that, he was already mentally panicking and trying to figure out what he should wear to their date. A suit jacket? A blazer? Suspenders? He was going to have to raid his closet and maybe a couple of his friends' closets to find the perfect outfit.

"Nah uh." Louis folded his arms and scrunched his nose up. "What if you turn up in a suit and I turn up in a t-shirt and shorts? I'd be underdressed. We have to figure it out so we can be matchy matchy!"

Harry bowed playfully. "Anything for you, Lou."

They finally decided on a semi-formal dress code so Harry picked out a button-up with a flowery design on it, worn under a multicolored sweater and a giant puffy coat because it was winter, after all. He didn't want to catch a cold and be sick on his and Louis' date.

After spending over half an hour in the bathroom fussing over his hair and another fifteen minutes having last minute doubts over his outfit, Harry was finally ready for their third date. He'd bought some real flowers this time, albeit it was a rather small bouquet, instead of doing that dumb origami thing. He'd bought a pretty pink little bouquet of pink baby's breath, because they were small and tiny and sweet, just like Louis.

Louis was waiting for him by the time Harry got to the Tomlinsons' house, dressed in something similar to Harry's outfit, except he was wearing a dark turquoise sweater and Adidas sneakers, unlike Harry's multicolored sweater and leather boots.

"Hi," Louis said, cheeks pink either from the cold or from bashfulness, but both ways he looked adorable and Harry desperately wanted to pinch Louis' cheeks. His puffy coat made Louis resemble more of a marshmallow than a man, but Harry definitely wasn't complaining.

"Hey, Lou." Harry handed Louis the bouquet, sucking his breath in as he nervously waited for Louis' reaction. "I got these flowers for you, they're cute and pretty and sweet, just like you."

Louis gasped softly and took the flowers from Harry, staring at them for a few seconds then getting on his tip toes to kiss Harry on the cheek. "These are so lovely, Hazzie. Thank you!" Louis' cheeks were significantly pinker now and Harry beamed, proud of himself. "I just need to go put these in a vase then we can get going."

Once the flowers had been properly taken care of, the two trooped down Louis' front porch and started walking down the street in the direction of the mall, where _The Lonely Fish_ was located. Louis' dainty hand was sticking out of his coat sleeve and after a few seconds of intense internal debate, Harry finally gathered the courage to reach out and link their hands together, his hand engulfing Louis' tiny one. Louis' fingers immediately curled around Harry's hand, giving Harry a quick, shy grin.

"It's so cold," Louis murmured, sticking his hands into his pockets.

"It is a little, yeah," Harry agreed, reaching his spare hand out to fix and brush Louis' fringe with his fingers when a gust of wind messed it up. Louis seemed to particularly like it when Harry played with his hair and he unintentionally nuzzled Harry's hand, making Harry let out a huff of laughter. "You're just like a little kitten, aren't you?"

Louis half-heartedly kicked Harry's shin. "Watch who you're calling _little_."

"You know it's the truth, lovely." Harry managed to dodge Louis' second kick just in time and tutted, shaking his head mockingly. "Violence is not the answer, Lou."

"You're such a meanie," Louis grumbled, but Harry managed to placate him with a kiss on the forehead.

They were seated at their table in the restaurant and Harry took off his coat and sweater, feeling a little warm now they were inside away from the harsh winter winds. Louis copied him but quickly put his sweater and coat back on after a few seconds, teeth chattering. "C-cold."

"You know they've got the heater on, right? It's pretty toasty in here."

"No it's not! I get cold easily, so... you know. 'm just gonna keep wearing my coat." Louis zipped up his coat and looked irresistibly squishy.

Harry tried to hide the fond expression on his face by looking down at his menu, eyes scanning absent-mindedly over the options. They ordered their meals a few minutes later and handed their waiter their menus, then turned their attention to each other.

Now that they were alone at their table with nothing to do but wait for their food to arrive, both Louis and Harry were getting a little jittery in the silence, unsure of what to say. "So..." Louis took a sip of his water and gulped it down loudly, too anxious to make eye contact with Harry. "I, um." 

Harry, who had been extremely worried about their date too, immediately melted at the sight and reached his hand out to place on top of Louis' over the table reassuringly. "Hey, it's okay. Don't be nervous, it's just me, yeah?"

"Mm." Louis smiled gratefully at Harry's words of comfort and took a deep, slightly shaky breath. 

Harry rubbed Louis' hand soothingly and took the first initiative to start the conversation. "I saw a flyer for a debate competition on the school bulletin board, are you going to be in it?"

*****

Harry and Louis still weren't exactly full even after finishing their meals, so they decided to get a bit of dessert to top everything off. Harry ordered a chocolate lava cake and after a bit of silent deliberation, Louis asked shyly, "I-is it okay if we share your cake? I don't know if I'll be able to finish one whole one."

"Yeah, of course! We can share the cake." Yes, of course he'd share the cake with Louis - if Louis wanted, Harry would gladly just give him the entire cake.

Louis was sniffling a little bit, seemingly having a bit of a runny nose, but Harry hardly noticed. When his lava cake arrived, he asked the waiter for another spoon and set the cake in the middle of the table, inviting Louis to take the first bite. 

"Thank you for sharing with me," Louis murmured, taking the spoon from the waiter and cutting into the cake.

"It's nothing." Harry saw how little Louis had taken from the cake and frowned. "Lou, you should take some more! I don't mind you having a bit more."

"Oh, um, okay." Louis nibbled on his miniscule portion of cake and took a bigger spoonful, much to Harry's approval. The cake was delicious and the molten center was gooey and warm and Harry was internally squealing from sharing a cake with Louis, so everything was well and good.

As they exited the restaurant after paying, they were hit by the harsh cold of winter again. Louis let out a sneeze and shivered, trying to make himself smaller. He then let out another sneeze, and another, and then one more after that. Harry had to admit that Louis' sneezes were adorable, but he was starting to get a little concerned. "You okay?"

" _Achoo!_ \- yeah, 'm alright," Louis sniffled. "It's just - I'm so cold."

Harry's heart ached a little. _Poor baby_. "Here, I'll give you my coat." Harry took off his puffy winter coat and wrapped it around Louis' shoulders, making Louis look like a comically round ball of padding.

"But - but now _you'll_ be cold!" Louis protested, moving to take of Harry's coat and give it back, but Harry quickly stopped him.

"I'm not that cold, but you seem like you're freezing. You're going to need my coat before you freeze into a tiny Louis popsicle."

"You're too kind." Louis nestled his cheek into the collar of his coats, then proceeded to let out five more sneezes in a row. 

Harry chuckled - Louis' sneezes were so endearing but also quite amusing, especially when they happened consecutively. Was it weird he found Louis' sneezes cute?

"Hazzie - _achoo!_ \- it's - _achoo!_ \- not - _achoo!_ \- funny - _achoo!_ " Louis' cheeks were red from the sneezing and he was pouting, grumpily crossing his arms and glaring at Harry.

Harry cooed and held out his arms. "C'mere, little one. I'll keep you warm."

Louis didn't need to be asked twice and waddled into Harry's arms, desperate for some extra warmth, which Harry was excellent at providing. He buried his face into Harry's neck and the coldness of Louis' nose against his neck almost made Harry jump, but he managed to stay still. 

He wrapped his arms around Louis and cuddled him closer, somehow feeling so safe and at home with a bundle of sneezing, cold, but incredibly adorable Louis in his arms. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry i haven't updated in a while... i've been busy, tired, uninspired, and haven't really enjoyed writing the past few chapters nor liked them :(


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a couple days until my birthday and louis' live show (which are on different days but are veryyy close)... i'm excited but i'm NERVOUS

Despite Harry's best efforts to keep Louis warm during their date by giving him his jacket and cuddling him, Louis had ended up catching a cold anyway, and he wasn't very happy about it.

Louis had sent Harry a bunch of text messages filled with sad faces and Harry had resolved to do anything in his power to cheer Louis up a little bit and help him feel a little better while he fought off his cold. Harry had heard Louis say he loved mushroom soup once when they were discussing their favorite foods - after that conversation, Harry had written down all of Louis' favorite foods so he could cook something good for Louis if he had the chance - so Harry decided to make some soup for Louis, just like Louis had done for him when Harry was sick a while ago.

Mushroom soup wasn't exactly the conventional type of soup a sick person would go for, but it was yummy and hearty and warm and mushrooms were healthy, right? Plus, Harry had secretly sneaked a tiny bit of kale and spinach into it - he'd never tell Louis, since Louis didn't like vegetables too much, but how else was Harry going to make sure Louis got all of the nutrition he needed? 

An hour or so of chopping, cooking, and blending later, Harry managed to fill a few containers with soup, two of which he was going to bring to Louis first. He wrapped the two of them in tinfoil to keep them warm and he wrapped himself in a few layers of shirts and sweaters and jackets to keep himself warm.

"Mum! I'm going to head over to Louis' for a bit!" he called, slipping on his shoes, zipping up his jacket and grabbing the insulated bag the containers of soup were sitting snugly in.

"Tell Louis I hope he gets better soon!" Anne poked her head out from the living room and a few seconds later, Harry could hear Gemma's door open upstairs and his sister yelled, "Tell him I hope he'll recover soon too!"

"Okay, will do." Harry patted his pockets down to make sure he had his keys, then slipped out the door into the chilly winter air. "Bye!"

Thin layers of snow crunched beneath his feet as he walked, and he hummed quietly to himself, smiling polite hellos at any neighbors he happened to pass by. The insulated bag containing the soup swung against his thigh and, reminded of who he was visiting, Harry automatically crossed his fingers and hoped Louis would like the soup. Cooking was one of Harry's great pleasures and it meant a lot to him that the people close to him enjoyed his food, so he sincerely wished Louis would like the soup, or else he might have to reevaluate his cooking skills and every meal he'd ever cooked.

When he arrived outside the Tomlinsons' doorstep and rang the bell, Jay answered the door and smiled at Harry warmly. "Hey, Harry."

"Hi, Jay. Um, I'm here to visit Louis? He said he's sick, so I, uh, brought some soup." Harry lifted up the bag to show Jay. "He's here, right?"

"Yes, he's upstairs in his room." Jay ushered Harry in and helped him take off his coat. "Just be warned, though, the medicine he takes for his colds make him a bit woozy and sleepy and lethargic, so if he's asleep or acting like a sloth, you'll know why. Plus, he gets a bit clingy and needy when he's sick, so... you know."

"Oh, okay." Harry followed Jay upstairs to Louis' room, waving hello to Louis' sisters as he passed by them. "If he's asleep I'll just come back later."

"I'm sure we can get him to wake up just to see you," Jay muttered under her breath, probably not intending for Harry to hear her words. She opened the door slowly so she wouldn't be making too much noise and looked in. "Lou?"

Harry couldn't really see into the room from behind Jay, but he could hear several incomprehensible sounds emitting from something he assumed was Louis. 

"Good, he's awake... sort of, anyway." Jay opened the door a little wider and Harry spotted a bundle of blankets surrounded by stuffies and boxes of tissue sitting on Louis' bed, making quiet sniffling sounds. "Boo, Harry's come to see you."

"Hazzie?" A fluffy, caramel mop of hair popped out of the bundle along with a pair of tired, but piercing sky blue eyes that blinked at Harry and Jay.

"Hi, Lou." Harry waved and stepped into the room, which had the heater turned up significantly higher than the rest of the house. 

"I'll leave you two alone, I'll be downstairs if you need me!" Jay gave Harry a quick pat on the shoulder, exited the room, and closed the door behind her. Louis was still staring at Harry, cheeks pink and his expression adorably bewildered.

"How are you feeling?" Harry approached Louis' bed slowly and set his soup on the nightstand. "Feeling any better?"

"Um, I guess." Louis' voice was a bit hoarse and nasal, but still music to Harry's ears. "The medicine put a stop to most of my sneezing, anyway. What are you doing here?"

"Thought I'd come visit you and keep you company. You don't mind, do you?" Harry waited for a little shake of Louis' head before he grabbed Louis' chair and pulled it up next to the bed so he could sit down next to Louis. "Plus, I brought soup for you."

"Soupy? For me?" Louis' eyes lit up and he stretched his arms out towards Harry, making grabby hands.

Harry obliged Louis' silent request and took out one of the containers of soup from the bag. "Tada! Here's your soup, I've got some more at home but I thought I'd bring you these first for you to try. I can bring some over later if you want more."

"Did you cook it yourself?"

"Mhmm."

Louis' cheeks flushed pinker than they already were. "T'ank 'oo, Haribo."

"You're welcome, lovely."

The soup was still warm enough to enjoy so Harry ran downstairs to fetch a spoon for Louis, who was very excited to try Harry's cooking. His eyes were shining with mounds of childlike enthusiasm, or at least the most enthusiasm a sick person could muster, and he grabbed the spoon from Harry's hand. "Gimme gimme gimme! A man after midnight," he sang the last few words instinctively, unable to say _gimme gimme gimme_ without completing the lyric. "By the way, what's the tiny green stuff in there?"

The truth was spinach and kale, but of course Harry would be murdered if Louis knew that. "Uh, herbs. You know, for flavor and stuff."

"Okey dokey." Louis dipped his spoon into the soup and quickly busied himself with consuming it, humming happily at the delicious taste of his favorite mushroom soup. 

Harry waited anxiously for Louis' opinion on his cooking, and once Louis had drunk a few spoonfuls, said, "Well? Do you like it?"

"Itsh delishioush." 

Harry let out a loud sigh of relief. "Oh, good."

"You're a very good cook, Hazzie." Louis rested his head on Harry's shoulder and nuzzled closer, and the taller boy preened, pleased with himself.

After drinking half of the container of soup, a warm, full tummy combined with the fact that Louis was originally sleepy and woozy from his medicine, was a recipe for a nap, so Harry helped to clean and tidy up a little bit and tucked Louis in. "My mum and Gemma hope you get better soon, by the way," Harry told him when he suddenly remembered.

"That's nice of them," Louis murmured, letting Harry adjust his pillows and blankets a bit.

"There. Comfy?" Harry stepped back a bit to check everything was good and smiled fondly at the endearingly drowsy blue-eyed boy.

True to Jay's words, Louis was indeed extra clingy when he was sick, because he stretched his arms out and sleepily requested, "Hazzie, cuddle please?"

Harry froze momentarily. Of course he wanted to cuddle with the cuddliest person in the world - Louis had asked Harry to stay for a bit while he slept after that football game, but cuddling was new, unexplored territory. "Yeah, sure, love." He moved closer and sat down on the bed awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

When Louis saw Harry just sitting there and not making any move to cuddle him, he pouted sadly. "You don't wanna cuddle?" 

That quickly spurred Harry to lay down next to Louis under the covers and scooch a little closer to the smaller boy. " 'Course I wanna cuddle."

"Good." Louis' response was almost unintelligible as he promptly latched onto Harry and wrapped himself around the other like a baby koala, shifting around a little and burying his face into Harry's neck once he was comfortable. "You're so comfy."

"And you're so cute." Blushing at being cuddled by Louis and still nervous, Harry slowly wrapped his arms around Louis' waist and rested his chin on top of Louis' hair.

" 'm not cute, 'm sick," Louis sniffled, snuggling closer to Harry and breathing in his calming scent. "Now shh, I wanna sleep."

"Okay, okay, sorry." Harry had no idea how he was still keeping some remnants of his cool when he literally had his crush wrapped around him tightly, but he lowered his voice and pressed a kiss to Louis' temple. "Nighty night, Lou."

*****

Louis recovered from his cold in a couple of days, which meant that Harry could take Louis out on another date a week later, on the weekend. Louis was dressed in a few more layers this time, along with mittens and a scarf and the cutest panda beanie pulled snugly on top of his head.

"Where are we going?" Louis' small hand slipped into Harry's one as they walked down the pavement. Harry had told Louis that they were going on a date, but hadn't told him where, so Louis was persistently trying to find out.

"I told you, Lou, it's a surprise. You'll know when we get there," Harry said for the millionth time, chuckling at Louis' grumpy expression.

"I don't like surprises."

"I think you'll like this one, I promise." At least, Harry _hoped_ he would. He'd talked to Louis' sisters and mother and friends to confirm Louis would like it, but he was still anxious. 

"You're not going to murder me, are you?" Louis blinked up at Harry, eyebrows raised.

"Nah. I like you too much to murder you."

"Okay, good."

A few more minutes of walking later, they arrived at their destination and Harry didn't even need to tell him for Louis to figure out where they were and what they were going to do. "Doggies!" he squealed excitedly, clapping his hands together.

"See? I told you you'd like it," Harry said, leading Louis into the dog café. 

"I haven't ever been here before," Louis confided in Harry, slipping off his beanie and scarf and mittens when they entered the front door. "I've always wanted to come, though."

"I've been here once, I thought it would be the perfect place for you. Guess I was right, huh?" Harry bumped Louis' with his waist and Louis bumped him right back.

"Yeah, yeah, can we see the doggies now?" Louis could hear barks from further into the café and was dying to get his hands on some dogs as soon as possible. 

"We need to go wash our hands first love, so we don't infect the dogs with anything, yeah?" 

Louis huffed but obediently obliged. They had to put on plastic booties too, and they were each given a slice of cake to have while they waited for their turn. Harry paid for them to be there for an hour and Louis was practically bubbling over with excitement when a worker led them into the dog pen. "Just remember, let the dogs come to you and don't force them to play with you if they don't want to," the worker instructed, opening the gate. "We'll give you some treats for the dogs later."

"Doggie, doggie, doggie," Louis chanted as he clambered in, the dogs barking loudly and trying to sniff the new strangers. There were all sorts and sizes of dogs and a few ran over to Louis and Harry as the two sat down in the middle of the pen.

One small, black and white, curly little puppy seemed to take special interest in Louis and clambered into the blue-eyed boy's lap after a few cautious sniff. The puppy's collar tag read _Clifford_ and Louis giggled happily as he stroked and petted the little puppy.

Meanwhile, Harry had the attention of a little Corgi puppy with floppy ears and the fluffiest fur, whose collar tag read _Milky_. She had her head laid on top of Harry's legs and let Harry scratch the top of her head, making little soft noises.

Other dogs were occupied with other people in the café, but there were a few more dogs sitting around Louis and Harry, watching the strangers curiously. Louis looked like he was in heaven, blissfully petting Clifford while other dogs were trying to get his attention.

A few balls and chew toys lay across the floor so Louis picked one up and held it up to Clifford's face, encouraging him with a, "Go fetch the ball, Cliffy!" before he threw the ball across the room.

Clifford bounded after it and returned with the ball in between his teeth in a matter of seconds, puffing up his chest proudly as Louis praised him excessively, his voice going up several octaves automatically. Harry had to hold back his laughter at Louis' baby talk, but he had to admit even he couldn't resist baby-talking Milky.

"Who's the cutest puppy? Who's the cutest puppy?" Milky gave Harry the biggest, lopsided grin and proceeded to try to eat his shirt. 

Louis played fetch with Clifford a couple more times before Clifford went off to play with some of his canine friends and a new dog, a German Shepherd named Charley, saw the opportunity and burrowed himself into Louis' side, barking that he wanted to play, too.

Eventually, the dogs got a bit tired from all the running around and playing, and had quieted down a little. Clifford returned to Louis' lap and was simply lying there calmly, letting Louis pet and cuddle him.

"Having fun?" Harry couldn't help the fond expression on his face.

"Mhmm. Can we switch?" Louis lifted the curly black puppy in his lap and gestured towards Milky.

" 'kay. Give me a second, boo." Harry gently lifted Milky up, being as careful as possible. The Corgi looked confused and bewildered but seemed to relax when she was plopped into Louis' lap. Clifford was subsequently plopped into Harry's lap and the puppy immediately began to lick at Harry's fingers, giving him a ticklish sensation.

"You're so tiny," Louis mumbled to Milky, massaging her floppy ears. "So small." Milky tilted her head up at Louis and yawned, flopping back down again.

"I take it you like dogs, then?" Harry said, amused.

"Of course I do! Who doesn't? They're so nice and cute and friendly. Just look at this little face, am I right, Milky?" Milky barked at the sound of her name but she evidently wasn't very enthusiastic about it since she was getting sleepy.

"I think you told me this before, but you used to have a dog, right?" Harry racked his brains for a name. "Uh... Tucker?"

"Ted."

"Oh, yeah. Ted Tomlinson."

Louis sniffed. "I miss Teddie. I wish we still had a dog, but there's too many people in the house already, a pet would just make everything more chaotic."

"You guys could get a pet when your sisters are older, when they're a bit more mature, maybe?"

"Hmm. Maybe. But that's ages away." Louis sighed and cuddled Milky close.

"Well, if you could have a dog right now, what kind would you wanna get?"

"Umm..." Louis scrunched up his nose and pointed at the curly bundle laying in Harry's lap. "Probably a doggie like Cliffy, I guess. I like labradoodles."

Harry took a mental note of that - he wasn't sure why - and gently stroked Clifford's fur. "Yeah, they're cute."

"How about you?"

"Uh... I don't know, really. A cockapoo? They're really tiny and cute and fluffy, too." 

Louis smiled. "Maybe in the future when we're older and we both get dogs, our dogs can be friends!"

Harry tried to ignore that Louis had just said _we_ and _the future_ in the same sentence. "Yeah. That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

After a few more minutes, both Milky and Clifford had fallen asleep, heads tucked between their paws. Louis looked like he was on the verge of tears at having a cute little puppy asleep in his lap and Harry's heart was turning into a mushy, emotional mess. The puppy fast asleep in his lap was so small and precious and even though there were several other dogs in the café he could play with, he just wanted to sit there and revel in the fact that a puppy had trusted him enough to fall asleep in his lap.

The worker had seemed to forget to give them some dog treats earlier, so he handed Louis and Harry each a handful to feed to the dogs. Sniffing the smell of their favorite treats, the dogs perked up and barked, bounding towards the source of the smell, which were Louis and Harry's hands. Even Milky and Clifford woke up among all the noise and buzz and licked Louis and Harry's hands, asking for some treats.

Louis shrieked and almost fell over when a horde of dogs rushed towards him, overwhelmed by their force and excitement. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

"Hey, hey, careful, boo." Worried, Harry stretched out his free hand and supported the smaller boy's back to stabilize Louis.

"T-thanks, Hazzie." Louis squeaked at the ticklish feeling of several pairs of paws on his legs and tried to evenly distribute his treats among the dogs near him. "Here you go... here you go... hey, no, you had one already! Cliffy, here's one for you..."

Harry did the same with his treats and soon both Louis and Harry's treats were all gone. Realizing there wasn't any more food, most of the dogs sniffed around for a bit more then padded away, making Louis pout.

"They're all going away now," he said dolefully, looking so adorably sad it made Harry's heart ache.

Harry cooed. "My poor Louis."

Louis blinked and said after a short pause, "I... _your_ Louis?"

Harry froze. He hadn't meant to— it had just slipped out of his mouth, and he was about to do what he usually did and make up some dumb lie to cover it up, but he stopped himself. He might as well take the chance to say what he'd been wanting to say for a while now, but had been too afraid to. Harry was absolutely terrified but he knew he'd have to do it eventually, and now seemed like a good time. He took a deep breath and looked Louis square in the eye.

"Well, would you like to be mine?"


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for the birthday wishes!! i love you all <3
> 
> also i've never been in a relationship before (surprise, surprise :p) so do excuse me if this isn't what couples do in real life lol

Harry was curled up next to the fire, yawning and feeling a little sleepy in the toasty glow of the fireplace.

Liam was sitting next to him with a book in his lap, although he wasn't really paying attention to it. Instead, he was drumming his fingers against the page, staring absent-mindedly into the flickering fire and occasionally flicking glances at Harry. "Winter formal's coming up, you know."

"Hmm?" 

"I said, the winter formal's coming up. It's in a month, right? Demi and Selena are on the dance committee and they were talking to me about it."

"Oh, yeah, it is." Harry rubbed his eyes. "Are you going to ask anyone to go with you?"

"Who would I even ask?"

"Hm, I don't know... Zayn?" Harry wriggled his eyebrows suggestively and Liam rolled his eyes, cheeks reddening a little.

"I'd only be met with cold, hard rejection and I'm not ready for that."

"Oh, come on, Li! I'm sure he'd say yes."

Liam snorted. "Yeah, right."

" _Liam_."

"Who are you going to ask then?" Liam looked back down at his book.

Harry didn't miss the way Liam switched the subject, but he let it slide and shrugged. "Dunno."

Liam tilted his head. "So you're not going to ask Louis?"

"You think he'd say yes?"

Liam smirked and nudged Harry playfully. "You think he'd be okay with you not asking him to go after what happened on your last date?"

Harry blushed, remembering what had happened at his and Louis' date at the dog café a few days ago.

_"Well, would you like to be mine?"_

_Louis' eyes widened and after a painfully long five seconds, stuttered, "Um, w-what?"_

_"Would you like to be mine?" Harry persisted._

_"I- what do you mean by that, exactly?"_

_Harry coughed awkwardly. He had definitely not prepared for this. "You know, um, like, would you like to be my boyfriend?"_

_Realizing what was going on, the other customers in the café all turned their heads to look at them, which just made Harry squirm even more. He wished a hole would open up in the ground and swallow him so he could escape the discomfort and embarrassment of this movement._

_Louis looked away from Harry and down at Milky, gently stroking her fur while he processed everything. Harry was so sure he'd never recover from this failure when Louis said shyly, "Y-yeah, I'd like to be your boyfriend."_

_Harry's heart stopped. "Really?"_

_Louis nodded, still not making eye contact with Harry, but he shuffled closer to Harry so their sides were touching. "Mhmm."_

_Harry's heart was audibly thrumming against his ribcage. "Lou?"_

_"Hmm?" Louis looked up at him expectantly, blue eyes sparkling. Harry felt an indescribable rush of love and adoration and affection_ _for the smaller boy_ _rise up in him and he leaned down to gently peck Louis on the lips._

_When he pulled away, both of their faces were burning red and they were smiling foolishly. Louis pressed his nose into Harry's shoulder and Harry could hear some of the other customers coo at them, but he ignored them and wrapped an arm around Louis' waist as a huge, face-splitting grin spread all over his face._

_After their date, Harry and Louis walked home, hand in hand. Louis was even shyer than he usually was, cheeks permanently pink and his eyes not meeting Harry's, but he tucked himself into Harry's side and Harry was delighted to find that the smaller boy fit perfectly._

_When they reached the Tomlinsons' house, instead of going straight inside like Harry expected him to, Louis lingered on the porch, playing with the zipper on his jacket. His was staring off into the distance like he was considering something and as much as Harry enjoyed just standing there watching Louis, he was wondering why Louis wasn't going inside. "You okay, Lou?"_

_Louis squeaked and turned to face Harry. "Um, yeah. Just wanted to say thank you for, uh, taking me out today. I had a lot of fun and... thank you."_

_Harry desperately wanted to pinch Louis' cheeks but instead he opted to reach out and tangle his fingers with the other boy's ones. "You're welcome, boo."_

_Louis gave him the cutest, smallest, smile, got on his tiptoes, and connected his lips with Harry's briefly. "Buh-bye, Haribo."_

_Harry was caught off guard and he was having a mild breakdown over his and Louis' second kiss of the day but he managed to squeeze Louis' hand and utter a "Bye, Lou," before he ran home, flopped onto his bed and screamed into his pillow._

Harry had a giddily lovesick expression on his face as he remembered what had happened. He still couldn't believe that Louis was his _boyfriend_ now and he was Louis' - he could still remember a few months ago when he was incredibly infatuated with Louis and had never talked to him. He could still remember a few weeks after that, when Louis had been avoiding him, and now they'd kissed and cuddled and confessed to each other and were _dating_. Harry couldn't even begin to describe how impossibly delighted he was.

"Since you guys are datingnow, it's pretty much preordained that you guys go together, you know." Liam said matter-of-factly. "Don't you want to dance with him and see what he looks like in a suit?"

"Well, it would be pretty nice to see him in a suit..." Harry said dreamily. He wasn't very good at dancing so dancing with Louis wasn't exactly on the top of his list, but he was definitely excited to see Louis all dressed up.

The winter formal dance was still in its early stages of planning, so Harry wasn't in any rush to ask Louis right away, which was a huge temporary relief for him. Logically, Liam was right and Louis would say yes to going to the dance with Harry now that they were _boyfriends_ , but Harry would never, ever, _not_ be nervous about anything that had to do with Louis. It was a wonder he was even able to function properly around the little angel.

They were spending increasingly more time together - sometimes going to Louis' house if he needed to babysit his sisters and sometimes going to Harry's house to escape the chaos of Louis' little sisters.

"I've never had a boyfriend before," Louis confessed quietly one day, when they were curled up on Harry's couch with their homework spread out over their laps. "Or a girlfriend, for that matter."

"Uh huh." Harry was a little surprised to hear that - Louis was so gorgeous and sweet and adorable and Harry was sure everyone in the right mind would want to date him. Although, he had to admit he was a little glad that he was Louis' first boyfriend and Louis didn't have any exes Harry would have to try not to be jealous of.

"T-that's a bad thing, right?" Louis seemed anxious, apprehensively watching Harry like he was waiting for the other boy's reaction.

Harry frowned, confused. "What do you mean, Lou?"

"Like... you know," Louis mumbled, playing with his fingers.

"I'm honestly not really sure what you mean, love. C'mon, tell me," Harry coaxed.

Louis folded his arms. "You know, not having any experience dating anyone."

Harry took the notebook in his lap and set it on the coffee table so he could move closer to Louis. "Why's that a bad thing?"

"Well... because... I don't know anything about boyfriends or how to be a good one." 

"Lou, love, that doesn't matter."

"But you've dated Lucas and Ellie..." Louis counted on his fingers. "You've dated two people and I've dated none."

"So?"

"So you know how to be a good boyfriend and everything and I don't." Louis looked so flustered and worried about it that Harry accidentally let out a chuckle, which agitated Louis even more. "Oi! Quit laughing at me, it's not funny!"

"Sorry, sorry, it's not funny," Harry agreed and tried to contain his laughter.

"You're such a meanie, Harold."

"Am _not_."

"Yes, you are! You were laughing at me," Louis huffed. 

Harry tugged a pouting Louis closer, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy's waist. "Aw, I wasn't laughing at you, promise. I just thought it was funny you were worried about being a bad boyfriend when you're already so perfect."

Louis' eyebrows furrowed. "What are you talking about? I'm not perfect."

"Oh, believe me, honey, you are."

Louis rolled his eyes. "Even if I was, you can't say I'll be good at something I've never tried. I don't even know anything about being a boyfriend except the things they show in the movies, but everyone says it's unrealistic."

"You don't have to worry so much about that, love. It's not like there's some big book of boyfriend etiquette you have to follow to be a good boyfriend. It's not so different from being a friend, you know."

"Really?"

Harry took Louis' hand in his and played with his fingers, rubbing his knuckles absentmindedly. "Mm. Sort of, I guess. My point is that you're a good friend and you're very cute and you're also very perfect so you'll be a good boyfriend and you don't have to worry so much. _I_ should be the one worrying about being a good boyfriend."

Louis didn't seem convinced at all. "You sure about that?"

"Very sure, but if you're not we can talk about it," Harry suggested.

"Talk about what?"

"I don't know, what you want to do, what you want me to do, what I want you to do, all that kind of stuff if it helps you feel a bit better? Maybe you'll feel a bit more confident in yourself if you're more clear on things."

"Hmm, okay." Louis closed the textbook in his lap and looked at Harry expectantly.

"Okay, so, um." Harry cleared his throat. He'd never really explicitly had this discussion with any of his exes - he wasn't even sure if people actually did this - so he didn't exactly know what to say. "We've already said that cuddling and hand holding is okay, right?"

"Mhmm." Louis sat on Harry's lap and snuggled closer, resting his head on Harry's chest. "I like cuddling."

Harry's heart melted and he kissed the top of Louis' head. "I can see that. Okay, how about, uh... kissing? Uh, like, kisses on the lips? Kisses on the cheek?"

Harry couldn't see Louis's face since it was resting on his chest, but he could imagine the smaller boy's blush. "Um... yeah. I like all sorts of kissies."

"Okay, okay." Harry dropped another kiss into Louis' soft hair and gently carded his fingers through the caramel strands. "How about... public affection? Like, can I hold your hand or kiss you at school?"

Louis was silent for a few moments. "I... I don't know. Um, maybe not yet."

"Maybe not yet," Harry agreed. "Well, that's all I can think of right now. Do you have anything?"

"Um... I'd like your undying love and attention, please," Louis said jokingly, and Harry laughed quietly.

"I thought that was implied already."

"Mm, I guess. You can have mine as well."

"Thank you very much, love," Harry said, playing along. "Anything else?"

"Well..." Louis' head tilted up to look at Harry, but after a few seconds of deliberation he looked down again. "Never mind."

"What is it?" When he got no response from Louis, Harry poked Louis' tummy and succeeded in making him squeal. "C'mon Lou, tell me. I'm not going to judge, promise."

Louis didn't move his head to look at Harry, but he obliged. "Okay, um... I-I like it when you play with my hair, sorta like you are now," he mumbled. "A-and I, um, like petnames."

Harry cooed softly, continuing to play with Louis' fluffy hair. "Aww okay. You're so cute, boo."

"Am not cute. Shut it, Hazzie." Louis tilted his head up and scrunched his nose to form a faux menacing expression, which just made him look cuter. Harry leaned down and pecked Louis' nose, smiling fondly.

"You're such a cutie patootie." 

"Ew. I don't like that." Louis made a face of disgust. "Don't you dare say that phrase ever again."

"Cutie patootie."

"Harry!"

*****

Just like they'd agreed, Harry didn't do anything couple-y with Louis at school - no holding hands and no kissing, but that didn't mean Harry couldn't stick to Louis' side for the entire school day.

He'd swapped out chatting with his friends before class for chatting with his boyfriend before class, which might've been slightly suspicious behavior to some of his friends but he didn't really care. He'd memorized Louis' schedule and figured out how Louis' classes and path overlapped with his long ago, so he was able to follow Louis around like a lost puppy.

"Where are Niall and Zayn?" Harry asked when he noticed that Louis' best friends weren't waiting at his locker like they usually were.

"They're somewhere... I think. Can you hold these for me, please?" Louis handed Harry the books he had been holding and Harry took them, hugging them to his chest while he waited for Louis to get his books. 

"Don't they usually wait for you here?"

"Well, I guess they thought you'd accompany me and they went off by themselves." Louis shrugged, unzipping his bag and stuffing a few books in. "Doesn't really matter, I'll probably see them in class."

Niall was indeed in biology class and Zayn in English class, knowingly smirking at Harry and Louis. Harry had to say it wasn't the most comfortable thing to have Louis' friends stare at them so creepily, but he could hardly bring himself to care when he was still so elated from him and Louis finally being official.

In English, Harry no longer used his compact mirror to sneakily look at Louis during class - alright, he'd admit it, it _was_ a little creepy that he used to do that, but it was all in the name of love, right? That's what he told himself, anyway.

He still ate lunch with his group of friends like he'd always done, and Louis still ate lunch with Niall and Zayn at their own little table, but after lunch as he was about to leave the cafeteria, Louis appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his arm. "Hi, Haribo."

"Hey, Lou." Harry dumped his trash into the rubbish bin and looked up at Louis. "What's up?"

"Niall and Zayn want to give you the talk."

"Um, the talk?"

"Uh huh."

"What about?" Harr was starting to get just a little bit nervous.

"You'll see. C'mon." Louis tugged Harry's arm and started walking, so Harry willingly followed him out of the cafeteria and into the school's hallways.

Niall and Zayn were waiting in one of the empty student break rooms, sat at the tables and resting their forearms on the edge with their fingers interlaced like they were about to interrogate somebody.

"Uh... is everything okay?" 

Harry did _not_ want to enter the room but Louis nudged him forward and whispered, "They forced me to bring you here, but this'll be over soon... I think."

Harry was rather bewildered as he sat down opposite to Niall and Zayn with Louis in the chair next to him. "Hi?"

"So, Harry... we heard that you and Louis were official now," Zayn said seriously, gazing intensely at Harry.

"Um, yeah."

"That's great, we're so happy for you, we've been waiting for _ages_ —" Niall grinned but Zayn poked him, silently reminding him they were supposed to be intimidating. "But if that's the case, we've got a thing or two to say to you. Now, both Zayniepoo and I think you're great and you and Louis are adorable but there are a few things we feel is mandatory to tell you."

"Okay, I guess." Harry had an idea of where this was going but he still wasn't exactly pleased to be in this position.

"First of all, Lou's never dated anyone or really had any romance in his life and he's a bit of a sensitive and vulnerable person so you better be careful with him, alright?" Niall warned. "Don't you dare try to take advantage of his inexperience and—"

"Yes, yes, Niall, we get it, you don't have to call me out like that." Louis motioned for Niall and Zayn to speed things up and get it over with.

"Second, he's a cutie patootie." Zayn reached over and tried to pinch Louis' cheek, but Louis batted his hands away and stuck his tongue out. 

"Why do you people all insist on saying that weird name?"

"Anyway, he's a cutie patootie so you better treat him right and shower him with love and affection and attention and gifts and whatnot, y'know? And, don't forget, you've got to be nice to his family too."

"Yeah, of course." This was all very obvious to Harry - he had intentions to do all of these things.

"Third, Louis is a very annoying idiot."

"Hey!" Louis crossed his arms, looking fairly offended.

"But," Zayn continued, "He's _our_ very annoying idiot and if you ever hurt him in any way - _any_ way - we will not be happy."

"If you hurt him, Styles, I will find you, I will hunt you, I will kill you—" Niall pointed his finger aggressively at Harry and Harry was getting just a little bit weirded out, so it was a good thing when Louis stood up and hauled Harry up too.

"Okay, I think that's enough, Ni. Me and Harry are going to go now." Louis linked his fingers with Harry's and dragged him away, while Niall and Zayn shouted reminders behind him.

"Don't forget what we said, Styles! We like you so we would prefer if we didn't have to murder you!"

"I'd prefer that too," Harry turned and called, right before he left the room and was out of earshot. "Lou, your friends are a little scary."

Louis snorted. "Don't be intimidated, Hazzie. They're both softies and they're just putting on an act to try to scare you."

"Well, they don't have to, I already knew all of the things they told me." Since the hallway was empty and no one else was around, Harry slipped his arms around Louis' waist. " 'Course I'll treat you right."

Louis' cheeks colored and he said shyly, "Good to know." 

He didn't say anything after that, so Harry tickled his tummy. "Aren't you going to say you'll treat me right too?"

Louis giggled and pushed Harry's hands away, opting to wrap his arms around Harry's neck and give him a quick peck on the cheek. "Okay, okay. I'm going to treat you right, Styles."

"Promise?"

"Promise."


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the last chapter of 2020! as a sort of end-of-year/beginning-of-year gift (also because i was bored lol), i've decided that i'll publish the first chapter of the "love me, please?" sequel on january 1st. i know i said i'd only start publishing the sequel once this book was done, but i think we've gotten to a point where the first few chapters of the sequel won't spoil anything in this story yet... i don't think i'll be updating regularly but you can expect to see a new story called "i'll love you for a lifetime" on january 1st!!

Harry was wearing a dress, a rather nice one that flowed and curled around him lazily, like a dainty cloud.

However, he wasn't exactly having a good time.

Well, it didn't have anything to do with the dress - it was a comfortable and pretty dress, really - and he probably wasn't enjoying himself all that much because he was being chased around the house by four little girls, who were also throwing random objects at him and screaming bloody murder.

He missed ten minutes ago, when they had been sitting around the coffee table in the living room, playing princesses and having a nice, calm tea party. He couldn't recall the last time he'd had a tea party, so it was a rather momentous and special occasion for him - more importantly to Harry, though, his boyfriend Louis (it gave Harry butterflies every time he remembered that Louis was now his _boyfriend_ ) had been sitting next to him, and was also in a dress with a plastic tiara in his hair.

Perhaps Harry should explain how they got there.

It had begun with Harry in Louis' house, as Louis had asked him to help babysit his sisters for a little while, since Jay would be gone for most of the afternoon and evening. The Tomlinsons were a very cute, usually well-behaved lot, so Harry agreed; of course, he'd also never say no to spending some time with Louis. The girls were in the corner of the living room doing God-knows-what and Harry and Louis were curled up on the couch. Louis, ever a cuddle-loving creature but still a little adorably shy around Harry, gained the courage to plop himself into Harry's lap and curl up into a tiny ball after a while. Harry melted at the sight and secured an arm around Louis, softly stroking and playing with Louis' hair with his free hand. Louis immediately relaxed and closed his eyes as Harry played with his hair, humming happily, but their little bubble was broken when Fizzy marched up to the couch and handed them each a pink slip of paper. 

Louis took his piece of paper from Fizzy curiously. "What's this, Fiz?" 

"Read it," was the only thing she said before she marched away again.

Scrawled onto the paper in messy handwriting and questionable spelling was: 

_U are kordly invited to the Tommo's Prinsess Tea Party, in 10 minutes_

_U must:  
\- wear a drez  
_ _\- look nice_  
\- be nice  
_\- bring a prinsess frend_

Harry blinked. "...the Tommo's Princess Tea Party?"

"Apparently."

"We've been invited to a tea party?"

"Mhmm. You wanna go?"

"I mean... sure?" It wouldn't be very nice to be left out, right?

"C'mon, then, we've got to go get dressed."

"W-what?"

" _C'mon_ , Haribo!" Louis got off Harry's lap, interlaced his fingers with his and pulled him up the stairs to his room. "We need to get dressed for the tea party or they won't let us join."

Harry had to admit, he was still a little confused at this point. "What do we have to wear?"

"A dress."

"Do we have to?"

Louis let go of Harry's hand to open his closet, and Harry was feeling a little sad that he no longer had a tiny, warm hand in his. "Yeah, it's in the invite."

"But... I don't own any dresses." Harry sat down on Louis' bed and watched as the smaller boy rifled through his closet. "I guess I could borrow one of Gemma's, but it would take me twenty minutes to go to my house and come back."

"Don't worry, I have some here." Louis set a box on his bed. "These are some of Mum's old dresses, they're for my sisters if they want to play dress up or something, but we can use them too. I think they'll fit you, we can just wear them on top of our regular clothes."

"Alright, then." Harry stood up and bent over the box next to Louis.

"Oh, and you can pick out one of my stuffies from my collection to be your princess friend."

So Harry and Louis dutifully put on their dresses, made sure they "looked nice" per the invite's instructions, took a stuffie each and went downstairs to find the girls. Harry had picked out a blue tulle dress from the box of Jay's dresses, while Louis was in a baby pink one. Even in a dress awkwardly pulled over Louis' sweater and jeans, he still looked so beautiful and delicate and squishy and Harry was feeling a little weak in the knees.

Louis' sisters were presumably still in their rooms getting ready for their party, but the coffee table was already set up with a pink tablecloth and plates and teacups. 

"Do kids really play tea parties? I don't remember me or my sister really playing it when I was a kid," Harry said as they seated themselves at the table. "I guess we played once or twice, Gemma usually liked to play teacher instead."

"The girls don't play it often, but last night we watched Snow White so I guess they're in a princess-y, tea party mood," Louis explained, setting a stuffed frog plushie on the seat next to him.

"And they call it the Tommo's Princess Tea Party?" Harry absentmindedly smoothed out his dress and made sure there weren't any wrinkles in the fabric.

"Yeah, 'cause all the participants are... y'know, Tommos."

"I'm not a Tommo, though."

Louis tilted his head. "You are now."

Well. Harry could live with that.

Although it was a teensy bit childish, the tea party was pleasant. The girls had come downstairs in their dresses and fake tiaras and had even given Louis a tiara to wear, which just solidified Harry's suspicion that Louis looked impossibly good in literally anything. Louis poured some tea for each of them and set out some cookies, and gave their "princess friends" - their toys and dolls and stuffies - a small cup of water each. They chatted and nibbled on cookies and pretended to be princesses for a good fifteen minutes before Harry accidentally knocked over Lady Truffles Triscuit Double Cheeseburger, a giraffe stuffie that had been Daisy's "princess friend" to the tea party.

All the girls shrieked frantically when Lady Truffles Triscuit Double Cheeseburger fell face-first into the coffee table, causing her cup of water to fall over and splash onto the tablecloth. 

"O-oh, I'm so sorry." Harry cringed at his own clumsiness - it was just his luck that Louis was watching him, too - and reached out to pick the giraffe stuffie up, but the damage was done.

Lottie stood up and cried, "Princess Harriet killed Princess Lady Truffles Triscuit Double Cheeseburger! Death to the murderer!"

Harry didn't even have time to utter a, "Wait, what?", four girls in dresses and tiaras were upon him while Louis watched in delight.

"I'm sorry! It was an accident!" Harry's instincts kicked in and he scrambled to stand up and bolted as Louis' sisters chased after him, grabbing whatever soft objects they could see and throwing them at Harry.

And that was how Harry ended up here, running through Louis' house in a dress, followed by four girls screaming their heads off, and not having a great time in general.

"Louis! Help me!" Harry begged as a small cushion hit him on the side of his head.

"I'm afraid Princess Louise remains neutral in these conflicts," Louis said with an amused look on his face, observing the spectacle from where he sat at the coffee table.

Harry had been running around for a full five minutes before Louis finally got up and put a stop to it, telling the girls to go pick up all the objects they'd thrown at Harry and clean up the tea party.

"You're such a meanie," Harry huffed, taking off his dress. They were back in Louis' room and Harry was just a little bit grumpy that Louis hadn't helped him immediately.

Louis scrunched up his nose at being called a meanie. "Aw, c'mon, Hazzie, they were just playing and I was just letting them play."

"I bet you also liked watching me get attacked by a hail of random objects," Harry grumbled, folding up the blue tulle dress carefully and setting it back in the box.

"Don't be mad at me, Hazzie." Louis wrapped his arms around Harry's neck, giving Harry his best puppy eyes, which Harry was no match for. "Be mad at my psychotic, deranged sisters."

A laugh escaped Harry's lips and his grumpy demeanor fell apart. "Okay, okay, I'm not mad at you."

A cute, tiny smile crossed Louis' face and he got onto his tiptoes to peck Harry's lips gently. "Good."

Louis took off his own dress, tidied things up a bit, and settled the girls down for a bit of TV and homework. That left Louis and Harry free to make dinner for everyone and Jay, who would be back in time to eat with them.

"Mum told me just to make some spaghetti... we have pasta sauce in the cupboard, I think." Louis yawned, covering his mouth with his little hand, and opened up the cupboards in search of food.

"Just spaghetti? Nothing else?"

"Hmm... I dunno... there's some broccoli in the fridge."

"Okay, I guess we can make that." As he passed by Louis to get to the refrigerator, Harry circled his arm around the smaller boy's waist briefly. He let go after a couple of seconds, and with his eyes on the fridge, he didn't notice the pout on Louis' face from the loss of contact. "Can you get some water boiling?"

Dinner was on the table pretty quickly and Jay had come home too, so Louis set the table while Harry went upstairs to call the girls down for dinner. "Dinner's ready! Come on down to the dining table, please." The girls dutifully went downstairs, but Phoebe lingered behind a little and slowly approached Harry.

"What's up, munchkin?" Harry squatted down so he could be at the same height as the small girl. 

Phoebe had her hands clasped behind her back and said shyly, "Sorry for chasin' 'arry."

Harry cooed. "Aww, it's alright, bub. I guess it was a nice game for you guys, at least it got you moving."

"Sorry," Phoebe repeated, and gave Harry a quick hug before she skipped downstairs for dinner.

Harry sat down next to Louis at the dining table and Jay smiled warmly at him and thanked him for helping to babysit her children, but she said something after that that made Harry freeze. "So, Harry, I hear you and Louis are official now?"

"Umm... yes ma'am." _Not this again_. It was great that all the people close to Louis were so protective of him, but... Harry was never, ever going to hurt Louis and he didn't exactly enjoy being threatened by people.

Next to him, Harry could hear Louis put his fork down and groan, "Mum, no. Niall and Zayn did 'if you hurt him I kill you' talk already."

"Well, I still have the right."

" _Mum_!"

"Alright, alright, I won't. I guess I already gave him the short version earlier." The girls giggled at them and Harry could feel his cheeks heating up. "Anyway, Harry, I'm very glad to hear it. You're a nice boy and perfect for my Louis."

Now Louis was blushing too and Harry stuttered out, "T-thanks, Jay."

After dinner, Harry and Louis were cuddling on the couch and watching a movie together. It was a Sunday and they had school tomorrow, so the four girls had been sent to bed, but Jay had allowed Harry and Louis to stay up a little later and watch a movie since they were what she called "big kids" now.

Just like before, Louis was half-sitting in Harry's lap and Harry had one arm around the blue-eyed boy's waist and one hand gently playing with Louis' hair. They weren't exactly watching a movie, but enjoying each other's warmth and smell and comfort in the dimly-lit living room. Harry felt sad when the movie ended, because it meant he'd have to stop cuddling Louis now and go home to his lonely bed. He wished he could stay overnight and cuddle Louis all night long, but maybe they weren't ready for that yet.

He soon discovered that Louis had fallen asleep in his lap - the dark room and the fact that Harry had been playing with his hair just the way he liked it had lulled Louis to sleep pretty quickly. Harry couldn't bear to wake Louis up when he looked so sweet and peaceful, so he carefully hooked a hand under Louis' thighs and the other under his back, and carried Louis princess-style upstairs to his room. Louis unconsciously snuggled closer to Harry's chest in his sleep, but when they got to his room he was half awake and made a sad little whining noise when Harry settled him down onto his bed and let go of him. "Hazzie... no... warm."

"Aw, I'm sorry lovely, but I've got to go home now," Harry whispered, tucking Louis under the covers.

"...Stay?" Louis requested, his eyes fluttering open a little. "Please?"

"Sorry boo, but I can't. We've got school tomorrow morning."

Louis looked so sad it nearly broke Harry's heart and convinced him to stay, but he steeled his resolve and made sure Louis was tucked in properly. By the time he was done, Louis was swallowed up in the blankets and looked like a little burrito roll.

"Buh-bye..." Louis mumbled drowsily.

"Bye, love." Harry bent down and planted a soft kiss on Louis' forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" He closed Louis' door behind him silently, said goodnight to Jay, and slipped out of the front door.

*****

Unfortunately for Harry, a week or two later the hype for the winter formal was in full swing.

Don't get him wrong - he _was_ excited for seeing Louis dressed up and getting dressed up himself, and spending the night dancing and talking with his friends and his boyfriend would be fun, but before he could get to all of that he had to _ask_ Louis to be his date, which he wasn't so excited about.

Yes, according to Liam's logic and logic in general, Louis would say yes because they were quite literally boyfriends at this point, but that didn't pacify Harry. What if Louis said no? What if Louis wanted to go to the formal with his friends instead of Harry? What if Louis wasn't the type to go to school dances at all?

Liam wasn't deterred by Harry's constant worries and wisely advised, "Just do it, idiot."

"Well, I can't _just do it_. I need a plan, then a backup plan if he doesn't like my plan, then a backup plan for my backup plan if he doesn't like my backup plan—"

"Harry! Stop overthinking it! You can just casually ask him to be your date or if you want it to be a little fancier, you can make a sign and get some flowers and ask him."

"Okay, okay." Harry scratched his head. "I guess I'll go for the sign and the flowers. But what would the sign even say? Do I need to think of a clever pun to ask him?"

"I mean, I'm sure there's some on the internet if you search it up. Or you could just write _Be my date to the formal?_ like a normal person."

"I talked to Mum and Gemma about it, they told me I should wait a while before I ask," Harry said glumly. "I don't know... I'm nervous. Everyone's asking their dates already and if I wait, maybe Louis won't have enough time to get ready for the formal."

"Why'd they tell you to wait a while?" Liam asked, puzzled. "That doesn't make sense."

"Dunno. You ask them, they wouldn't tell me."

"Alright, I will. In the meantime, Harry, stop freaking out about asking Louis and find something to write on your sign."

That afternoon, Liam went over to Harry's house like he commonly did, but instead of going up to Harry's room to hang out with him, he lingered in the living room to talk with Anne and Gemma. Harry tried to join in the gathering, but was very ungracefully kicked out of the conversation and ordered to go up to his room and leave them alone.

He grumbled as he trooped up the stairs to his room. They were no doubt talking about Louis, who was _his_ boyfriend, and they were talking about _his_ love life and yet he couldn't even listen in on it! Alone in his room, he flopped down onto his bed and checked his phone, where he found that several of his friends had texted him. He spent a couple of minutes replying to all of his friends before the conversation downstairs had finally finished and Liam came upstairs.

"So? Should I wait?" Harry sat up when he saw Liam coming through his door. 

"Yeah, you should definitely wait to ask Louis," Liam said, not exactly meeting Harry's eye as he sat down in Harry's chair. "Wait at least a week."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "Why? You just said I shouldn't wait this morning!"

"Well, I was wrong." Liam shrugged. "Waiting would be good for you."

"Why?"

"Just trust me."

"Ugh. What did my mum and sister tell you?" 

"Harry, just trust us. Wait a week before you do anything."

After a few seconds of deliberation, Harry decided to trust them. He didn't know why they kept telling him to wait a bit until he asked Louis, but there wasn't any harm in waiting... right? He scrunched up his nose and stuck his tongue out at Liam. "You guys are awful. Fine, I'll wait."

He found out why they told him to wait a couple of days later. He was sitting on the couch, going through his notes for the next day's pop quiz, when the bell rang and Anne called, "Harry, can you go get the door, please?"

It was probably just a deliveryman so Harry didn't bother to tame his messy hair or try to smooth out his wrinkled shirt when he went up to the door. However, he quickly discovered that it was _not_ a deliveryman at the door when he opened the door and revealed Louis, who was standing on his front porch with a sign in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other.

The sign read, _HARRY, I FIND YOU RIBBETING. IT WOULD TOAD-ALLY DELIGHT ME IF YOU WOULD BE MY DATE TO WINTER FORMAL!_ and there was a drawing next to it, which Harry guessed was a cartoon version of himself wearing a... frog hat?

Louis looked so nervous - this was so out of his comfort zone - that he was trembling and shaking and it concerned Harry a little bit, but Harry was much more concerned that Louis was literally standing at his front door, with a sign _asking him to be his date to the winter formal_. Harry had not prepared himself for this. He hadn't even considered the possibility that _Louis_ might be the one to ask, but he wasn't complaining because the sign was so, so adorable and the frog puns were so cheesy but sweet and it made Harry's heart ache. 

He was subconsciously aware that Anne and Gemma were standing behind him, and everyone was waiting for Harry's reaction and answer, but he couldn't do anything but stand there with his mouth wide open, dumbfoundedly gaping at the sight before him. He wasn't sure if he could even function properly.

When Harry didn't give his answer or even _react_ straight away, Louis began doubting himself - why wasn't Harry saying anything? - and trembled even more, anxious and scared. He took a deep, shaky breath, trying to calm himself down enough to verbally ask Harry the question, just in case Harry had lost the ability to read and wasn't saying anything for that reason.

"H-hi, Haribo, um... w-would you like to go to the winter formal w-with me?"


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as promised, the first chapter of the "love me, please?" sequel is out! i hope you enjoy it :)
> 
> i am so so sorry it took me so long to update, i was busy (as always lol) and when i did have time to write i struggled so much with it, nothing was working out for me and my brain refused to write anything good so this chapter isn't very good at all but i somehow managed to get it out of me, so... yay?

Frogs wouldn't usually be considered romantic in Harry's book, but the current sight of Louis asking him to the winter formal with frog puns and doodles on his sign could actually be the sweetest thing that he'd ever seen.

Of course, though, it was quite alarming that Louis was so nervous he was trembling and looked like he was about to cry when Harry didn't give an immediate response. Everyone's eyes were on Harry and yet he was still taking quite a lot of time to process everything after he'd been caught off his guard completely. His gaping, wide-eyed expression made him resemble a fish, but he was too shocked to be self-conscious about it.

After ten seconds that felt a lot longer than they actually were, Harry managed to form a response, choking out, "I-I... yeah, of course I'd like to be your date!"

"Oh, good. Thank God." Louis visibly slumped in relief and a goofy, happy smile spread over his face. "These are for you," he murmured softly, holding out the bouquet of flowers.

"Thank you, love." Harry took the bouquet and now that one of Louis' hands were free, Harry interlaced their fingers and instinctively tugged Louis closer to kiss his temple and give him a quick side hug. His heart was rabbiting in his chest and he hoped Louis wasn't close enough to feel the loud thrumming.

Anne and Gemma cheered, clapping their hands together in celebration. "Ooh, I know. How about we take a picture of you two to commemorate?" Anne suggested, making Harry groan.

"Mum, we don't have to—"

"Shut up, Harry, just take the picture." Gemma pulled her phone out of her pocket and held it up. "Louis, can you hold the sign up a little bit, please? Okay, that's great, you guys look adorable. Smile!"

Harry tensed up and plastered an awkward grin on his face for the camera, but he was able to relax when Gemma and Anne scurried back into the house to give Harry and Louis a bit of privacy. It was winter and Louis was cold, snuggling into Harry's side, so Harry motioned for them to step inside the house too where it was a little warmer.

"Is that, uh, is that a cartoon of me in a frog hat?" Harry gestured to the drawing on the sign.

Louis coughed, averting his eyes that had a rather playful look in them. "Um, yeah."

"Did you draw it?"

"No, I'm not that good. I did the letters and everything else, and I came up with the idea, but Zayn did the cartoon of you for me. Do you... d'you like it?"

Harry laughed. "I love it, it's adorable. Why frogs, though?"

"You look like one, duh."

Harry instantly folded his arms, letting go of Louis' hand, and huffed. "What - I do _not_."

"You do, though, you've got this cute little froggie face." Louis reached up to squish Harry's cheek with one hand and he used his other hand to tug on Harry's bicep until Harry uncrossed his arms and Louis could interlace their fingers again.

Harry had to admit his heart was melting a bit at Louis wanting to hold hands, but he still scoffed at Louis' words and pulled his lips into a straight line, unknowingly doing the exact "froggie face" Louis had been talking about. _Louis_ was the cute one in their relationship, not Harry, and he found it jarring for Louis to be gushing over Harry's cuteness when it should be the other way around. Also, Harry did _not_ look like a frog.

"Louis, honey, would you like a cup of tea to warm you up?" Anne asked, poking her head out to look at Harry and Louis, who were standing in the foyer.

"Oh, um, no thanks. I've got to leave soon anyway, I need to study for the quiz tomorrow." 

Harry's heart immediately sank when he heard Louis would be leaving soon - he wanted his boyfriend to stay a little longer. "I'm studying too!" he blurted out quickly. "Maybe you could, uh, stay and we could study together?"

Louis hesitated for a few moments, considering the suggestion before nodding. "Okay! I just need to pop back home to get my study materials."

"Sure, I'll just be waiting here for you, then." Harry squeezed Louis' hand before he let it go. "See you. And thank you for the lovely flowers and sign, Lou."

Louis looked rather pleased with himself and his promposal idea, and he made a little happy noise when he lifted his sign up and slipped out the door to go get his textbook and notes.

As soon as Louis had left, Harry turned to go back into the living room and was met with the sight of both Anne and Gemma nearly bursting with excitement. "Wasn't that adorable?" Gemma gushed. "You've really got a good one there, Harry. He came over one day when you weren't home and he was so shy and nervous and asked us if we thought asking you to the winter formal would be a good idea and if we thought you'd like his promposal idea."

"He even asked for our permission to just _stand on our front porch_ and borrow you for a couple of minutes while he asked," Anne added fondly. "He was so polite and sweet and cute, he's definitely a keeper, Harry. He's perfect for you."

Harry and Louis hadn't been dating for very long, but Harry had to wholeheartedly agree with that.

To prepare for his and Louis' study session, Harry gathered a couple of blankets and pillows to put on the couch so that Louis could be warm and comfortable - not to mention a comfortable Louis was a cuddly Louis, and Harry was always in an urgent need of some of his boyfriend's cuddles and kisses.

Louis came back a while later with his notes and blushed a little when he saw Harry sitting among all of the blankets and pillows on the couch, but he happily plopped down and set his notes on the coffee table. 

Harry pouted when he realized he was sitting on one end of the couch and Louis on the other, and there was what seemed like miles of space between them. To remedy that, he unthinkingly reached out an arm to wrap around Louis' waist and tugged him closer, until Louis was sitting in his lap. The smaller boy squeaked a little at the sudden movement and his face turned even redder and more bashful than before, but he happily leaned into Harry's chest and snuggled closer.

"So, um... biology." Harry cleared his throat, unable to stop the grin that was spreading on his face from having Louis in his lap.

"Biology," Louis agreed, humming softly and grabbing his notebook. He flipped it open to reveal pages and pages of writing and the occasional diagram, and a curious Harry hooked his chin over Louis' shoulder to have a look.

"You've got such nice and pretty notes," Harry commented.

Louis snorted and shook his head slightly. "Yeah, right. Your ones are so much nicer and your handwriting is so much prettier than mine." He gestured to Harry's own notes, which were lying on the coffee table.

"Ehhh. Mine are just fine, I guess." Harry reached over to pick his own notes up and maneuvered around a little so he had one arm on his side, holding his notes up for him to see, while he still had one arm around Louis' waist, his fingers splayed on Louis' tummy.

"Where did you study up to?"

"Oh, um... the vitamin stuff."

"Want me to test you on that?"

"Uh... yeah, sure." Harry took one more brief look at his scribbled notes, trying to absorb all of the information into his brain, before he handed his book to Louis.

They sat there for maybe a little less than an hour, testing each other and occasionally sitting in silence while they read their notes. In one of these periods of silence, Harry was staring at his book, trying desperately to remember the names of the different part of the small intestine, but he was having quite a hard time doing so. He really should be focusing on studying, but it was rather difficult to do when he had a bundle of the prettiest boy in the world in his lap. Louis looked so ethereal even just studying that Harry half-expected a glowing halo to appear above Louis' head and confirm he was an angel on earth.

Then Louis let out three successive sneezes, blew his nose noisily, snuggled closer to Harry and tried to pile on a bunch more pillows and blankets to keep himself warmer. Yep, Harry was convinced this boy was an angel.

*****

Being on the decorating team meant that Harry had to help out with setting up the winter formal; being absolute shit at art also meant that Harry was given the menial task of painting random banners dark blue while the more artistic members of the team painted designs on them. Luckily for him, though, Louis had been tasked with the same job, which made the painting a little less boring for Harry since he was in the company of his little angel boyfriend.

The whole team was in the school hall, sitting on the newspaper-lined floor with their art supplies and banners while Mrs. Dewberry walked around and made sure everything was running smoothly. Everyone was wearing art smocks that somehow looked unfairly good on Louis, and Louis had a splatter of blue paint on his cheek that, instead of being a flaw, seemed to perfect Louis' adorableness even more as the small boy painted away happily. Harry was on the verge of dying.

Zayn was among the other members painting the more intricate designs - aka the entire rest of the decoration team because only Louis and Harry couldn't actually do art - but he still managed to sit close to Louis and Harry. He was painting little snowflakes and swirls on one of the dried banners and had a headband in his hair to push the longer strands out of the way, so they didn't disturb his focus.

He couldn't stop a certain curly-haired boy from disturbing his focus, though.

"Uh... hey, Zayn." Harry sat there awkwardly when Zayn was too concentrated on his work and didn't hear Harry.

"Z." Louis poked Zayn's shoulder with the handle of his paint roller. "Zaynie?"

"Hmm?" Zayn's eyes flickered to Louis momentarily to show he was listening before his eyes went back to the snowflake he had been painting.

"Harry wanted to talk to you."

Harry whispered a quiet, "Thanks, love" directed at Louis and reached out to squeeze his hand quickly.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't hear you." Zayn lifted his head up to look at Harry, set his paintbrush down and smiled apologetically. "What's up?"

"Nothing, I... I just wanted to thank you for helping with Louis' sign, your drawing was amazing. You're really great at art!"

Zayn's beam widened. "Thanks, Harry. I knew you'd like it, but Lou here was freaking out every single second of every single day that you wouldn't like it."

Louis shoved Zayn and hid his red face behind his arm. "Shut it."

Zayn shoved Louis right back, making him shriek. "What? It's true, he was so nervous he almost didn't go through with asking you. Niall and I had to force him to do it. He was so scared you were going to say no."

"Zayn, shut your mouth right now," Louis grumbled. His eyes weren't meeting Harry's but Harry was undeniably endeared.

"Aww, Lou. There's no way I would've said no, no matter what."

"I didn't _know_ that, did I?" Louis huffed and glared at Zayn.

"Okay, well, now you know, angel."

Louis flushed and, wanting to change the subject, turned to Zayn. "Z, you still haven't told me. Who's your date to the winter formal?"

Silence.

" _Zayn!_ Please tell me, I wanna know. I'm not going to judge or laugh or anything, I promise." Louis' current pout, along with the paint on his cheek and the fact he was dressed in a smock, made him look like a child and Harry was having a hard time trying to hide the fond expression on his face.

"What are you talking about?" Harry finished painting a small section of his banner and scooched closer to Louis and Zayn.

"Zayn won't tell anyone who his date to the winter formal is." Louis crossed his arms. 

"How do you know Zayn even has a date? For all you know he hasn't been asked yet, right?" Harry slapped a hand onto his mouth. "I mean, not like I think you wouldn't be asked, Zayn, I'm sure someone wants to ask you but—"

Zayn laughed and waved his hand dismissively. "Chill out, H. I'm not offended."

"Niall asked him if they wanted to go together as friends or something 'cause they both hadn't been asked or asked anyone yet, but Zayn said he already had a date."

"Oh. Is Niall going with anyone, then?"

"Yeah, he's going with Aurelia, but Zayn didn't tell us who _he's_ going with. Not like it's a big secret or something, we'll find out during the winter formal anyway."

"Exactly, you'll find out during the formal. Just be patient and wait a week or two, you'll find out who my date is then," Zayn said.

"Why can't you just tell us now? Please, Zaynie?" Louis gave Zayn his cutest puppy eyes and Harry marveled at how Zayn didn't yield, because if Harry was in his place, he'd be spilling every single secret he had in seconds.

"None of your business, Lou. You'll find out soon enough in any case." Zayn picked up his brush and resumed his painting, and Louis gave up on trying to find out who Zayn's date was... for now, anyway.

Harry and Louis finished painting one banner so they lifted it up and walked over to the corner of the hall near the entrance, where some more painted banners had been put to dry. The hall doors were open to let some air in and let the paint fumes out, so Harry and Louis could see some of the students walking past the hall. It was after school hours, but there were still people hanging around, and some were peering into the hall curiously. Harry noticed that a couple familiar faces among the students standing outside the hall, but didn't think much of it and set the banner down on the floor.

"Harry, Louis, can you paint this one next?" Mrs. Dewberry lifted up a blank banner. "This one should be a light blue - you can go to Julie over there, she's got all the different paints and colors and supplies."

"Okay, Mrs. D." Harry wiped his hands on his smock to make sure he didn't have any dark blue paint on them and wouldn't accidentally dirty the new banner. He and Louis carried the blank banner back to their previous spot then made a quick pitstop at Julie's to grab the light blue paint and new paint rollers. They'd just started painting when Harry noticed a figure standing above them and looked up.

"Hey, Harry," Nick Grimshaw said.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "Nick? What are you doing here?"

"I was staying after school to finish up an assignment, I saw you guys in here and I thought I'd pop in to say hello - what are you guys painting?" Nick crouched down, and squinted at Louis and Zayn. "Oh. It's you people. Hi, I guess."

A quiet "Hi" was Louis' only response while Zayn didn't even bother to pay Nick any attention.

Harry tried to ignore Nick's rudeness and said, "Uh, we're painting banners and stuff for the winter formal. They're gonna hang these up on the walls or something, I think."

Nick wrinkled his nose. "Sounds boring. Why'd you even join this club again?"

"Ehhh, it's not that boring. S'fun sometimes." Harry set his paint roller down on the tray. "Mrs. Dewberry invited me to join, she's so nice and I couldn't say no. Thought joining a different sort of club would be good for me, too, y'know." 

Nick sat down fully, causing the paint in the tray to shake and splash a bit. "I guess so, but I've seen so little of you this year compared to last year! You've joined new clubs and even when you're not doing some club-related business I still never see you." The sad look on Nick's face was, unlike Louis', not very cute to Harry at all.

"Oh, um..." Harry shrugged. "I'm busier, I guess. We're getting older and that means more schoolwork and pressure and responsibilities." He'd also, of course, been spending a lot of time with Louis, because why wouldn't he want to spend every second he could with the blue-eyed boy?

"Ugh, tell me about it. I've got so many assignments to do." Nick rested his cheek on his hand and glanced at Louis. "Bet Mr. Goody-two-shoes here is coping just fine, though. You spends so much time with your books and studying, I'm surprised you even have some semblance of a social life. Do you have a date to the winter formal?"

Louis shot Nick a venom-laces glare but stayed silent, instead trying to relocate his focus to his work.

"How about you, H? Do you have a date?" Nick looked back at Harry again, who was fuming at how brusque Nick had been to Louis. "You're so popular and good-looking, I'm sure you have one, but I haven't heard anything about who you're taking to the formal."

"Actually, I—" Harry opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when Mrs. Dewberry walked over.

"Mr. Grimshaw, if I recall correctly you're not in the school decorating and art team," she said sweetly, although Harry thought her voice had some acidity in it. Maybe he was just going crazy from being around the paint fumes for too long, but Mrs. Dewberry _was_ using that strict teacher tone every student knew all too well. "If you want to chat with your schoolmates, you can do it when they're not working, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Sorry, miss." Nick gave Harry a rueful look and got up, brushing his pants off. "See you later then, Harry! And, uh, bye, you two." He waved and made his way to the entrance, soon disappearing.

"Keep on going, boys, you're doing great!" Mrs. Dewberry patted Zayn on the shoulder and walked away too, to help George paint some large block letters on another banner.

"Lou, I'm so so sorry he was so rude to you," Harry said in a low voice. "Nick's just - I dunno, I have no idea why he was being so rude and I'm so sorry, you don't deserve it."

"It's okay, Haribo, don't apologize." Louis shook his head slightly. "It's not your fault or anything."

"But still - I'm sorry." Harry picked up his paint roller and dipped it into the paint, letting the excess drip off.

"Har- _ry_." Louis shoved Harry playfully, a thin smile on his lips. " _Stop apologizing,_ silly!" 

"Okay, okay, I'll stop." Harry held up his hands in surrender and started painting again, though he couldn't help but detect a little bit of woe and misery in the undertones of Louis' voice. But - Louis was still painting away like nothing was wrong.

Maybe the paint fumes were driving Harry crazy after all.


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry my updating has gotten so lax, i've been busy with school (as always) and i'm also trying to get started on a new fic, so i'm basically a mess right now. i promise i will try my best to update more often and more consistently!!

The formal occurred on a Saturday night, and, while it was a _winter_ formal, Harry thought it was actually a bit warm.

That must be why he was sweating as he made his way to Louis' house to pick him up— he wasn't sweating out of nervousness, of course. No, definitely not. Although— he could not get his hands to stop trembling, and he was feeling so high-strung right now that he prayed no mishap would happen, or else it would be the straw that broke the camel's back and Harry would have to run all the way home and give up on everything in life. 

Maybe he was being dramatic like he always was, but this night was so important to him and he hoped nothing would go wrong. It was one thing to spend time with Louis casually, but dressing up and being fancy and going dancing had so much added pressure to it. Harry was _not_ a good dancer - he was a nightmare, actually - and he was dreading Louis laughing at his weird dance moves. What if they had to slow dance and they were having a moment and Harry stepped on Louis' toes? But then again, slow dancing with Louis would definitely be Harry's dream come true. Oh God, what if they _kissed_ while slow dancing? Harry would very, very likely pass out from the butterflies if that happened. 

Besides, Harry and Louis had agreed that they were finally going to introduce Louis to Harry's friends as his _boyfriend_ , and although he was sure it would go without a hitch, since his friends were all lovely people, it was one more thing for Harry to be anxious about.

Finding the right outfit for the formal had been a struggle, to say the least. Harry had scoured practically every possible store in town before he'd finally managed to get his hands on a perfect ensemble - a black suit jacket worn over a sort of lacey white button-up and a Western bowtie. He thought he looked quite nice in this outfit; Anne had teared up a bit when she saw him and told him he looked very handsome while Gemma had said he looked "decent, I guess." But, of course, Harry was most worried about what Louis' opinion would be. He was the only person Harry wanted to impress right now.

In an effort to make this night as perfect as possible, he'd consulted with all of Louis' friends and family that he knew about what flowers he should get Louis. Upon discovering Louis didn't have a favorite type of flower, or at least no one knew what his favorite flower was, he'd gone and bought a bouquet of sunflowers because they were bright and sunny and cheerful just like Louis, but now he was second guessing himself and wondering if he should have gotten some roses or some baby's breath instead since Louis had seemed to like those the last time Harry got him flowers. It was too late to go to the florist's now, though, so Harry soldiered on bravely and walked up the porch steps to the Tomlinsons' house. He knocked on Louis' door and held his breath, anxious for the formal but excited to see what Louis looked like all dressed up.

When the door swung open and Harry caught the sight of his date, his jaw hit the floor and he almost dropped his sunflowers. Louis looked unfairly good in a sparkly black suit that, unlike his usual oversized clothes, hugged his figure, accentuated his waistline and it had Harry drooling. Louis even had sparkly black shoes to match, his hair was gelled a little and— was that a dab of glittery eyeshadow and highlighter? To be fair, Harry had borrowed a bit of Gemma's makeup too, but Louis looked so beautiful and Harry was about to fall over and roll down the porch steps.

He wasn't the only one in awe, however, because Louis' mouth was hanging open too, and he was surveying Harry's outfit with a light flush on his cheeks. After a short period of mutual admiration, Louis finally managed to stutter out, "U-uh, hi, Haz."

"Hey, Lou," Harry said breathlessly. "I, um, wow. You look amazing."

"Thank you so much, Harry... you look incredible too. Like, really, _really_ good."

It was Harry's turn to blush. "Thanks, Lou."

They stood there bashfully gazing at each other for a few more seconds before Harry remembered he was holding a bouquet of flowers and quickly thrust it out towards Louis. "Here, I got you these."

"Oh! Sunflowers?" Louis took the bouquet from Harry and inspected the flowers. "They're beautiful, Hazzie. Thank you for these!"

"I bought sunflowers because they're bright and cheerful, like you," Harry explained.

Louis' cheeks deepened in color and he couldn't stop the giddy expression that was starting to spread all over his face. "You're such a sap."

"One of my greatest qualities." Harry held out his hand for Louis to take. "Let's get going, then?"

"Just give me a second, I've got to tell Mum I'm leaving." Louis gave Harry an apologetic look, turned and called into the house, "Mum! Harry's here and we're leaving now."

There was suddenly a loud patter of footsteps and Jay appeared in the foyer, followed by Louis' sisters. "Hi, Harry!" they all chirped collectively, waving and trying to get Harry's attention.

"Harry, you look so handsome," Jay said, clasping her hands to her chest when she saw him. "You both look so handsome! And are those some sunflowers for my Lou?"

"Um, yes, ma'am."

"Ooh, I've got to take some pictures. Anne will definitely want to see this." Jay patted her pockets and fished out her phone, much to Louis' dismay.

" _Mum_ ," he whined. "No pictures."

"Oh, hush. You'll be glad I took pictures when you're older." Jay gestured for Louis and Harry to stand closer together so Harry shuffled closer awkwardly and wrapped an arm around Louis' waist, feeling Louis instinctively lean into him.

"Say cheese!" Jay held her phone up to her eyes and behind her, Louis' sisters starting making silly kissy faces which Harry was trying valiantly to ignore or else his face would be a burning scarlet in the photos. Jay was satisfied with her picture-taking after a couple of minutes and finally allowed Louis and Harry to leave, but not before giving them both kisses and hugs and telling them to enjoy their night.

"Bye bye, Mum, bye, girls." Louis waved as he and Harry stepped out of the house. "I'll see you later."

"Don't stay at the dance for too long, okay? I don't want you to get home too late. And make sure your phone's on you so I can call if—"

"Yes, yes, Mum, I know. Love you!" Louis blew his family a kiss, closed the door, and followed Harry down the porch steps, jumping down the last step like a child.

"Ready to go?" Harry held out his hand again and this time Louis took it, interlacing their fingers.

"Mhmm. Ready." 

Before they'd be going to the school for the formal, Harry and Louis had agreed to go out for dinner at a fancy restaurant. Harry had turned down the offer of eating with all of his friends and their dates at a diner and carpooling to the formal in favor of wining and dining Louis (well, there would only be dining, since they were still underage, but— you know what he meant). There was no one quite like Louis in his beauty or disposition, and Harry was going to take every chance he got to spend time with him, preferably alone.

They were seated at a quaint, romantic, candle-lit table and handed their menus, which they scanned briefly and ordered from. Harry was famished and just a little jittery, already hoping his food would arrive even though he'd just ordered it. As their waiter took their menus and walked away, Louis coughed a little and gave Harry a shy smile across the table. "I like your shirt."

"You do?" Harry puffed out his chest proudly. "I like it too."

"Mhmm. It's a little different from the normal types of shirts, it's so fancy and pretty." Louis took a sip of his apple juice - yes, he'd ordered apple juice at a fancy restaurant and that had made Harry fall in love with him even more.

Harry tilted his head down to inspect his lacey white shirt and patted it gently. "I had to scour every store in town to find this, I didn't exactly wanna go to the formal in a normal black and white suit looking like every other guy in school."

Louis' bottom lip jutted out. " _I'm_ going to go to the formal in a normal black and white suit looking like every other guy in school."

"No you're not! Yours has got sparkles and glitter." Harry ogled Louis' glimmering suit jacket enviously. "It's so much more nicer and unique than mine, and it suits you so well."

Louis' eyes twinkled. "Sparkles and glitters suit me?"

"Well, they do," Harry said honestly. Sparkles made Louis glint and glisten like the angel he was. "You're going to be the star of the formal."

Louis rolled his eyes and snorted. "Yeah, right. We both know no matter what we're wearing, you're going to be the star and no one is going to notice me."

" _Heyyy_ , that's not true!"

"C'mon, Haribo, admit it. You're the school's golden boy and I'm a nobody."

Harry felt his heart being ripped to pieces when he heard that Louis saw himself as a _nobody_ when in reality this little blue-eyed boy was everything to him. " _Lou_. Don't say that."

Louis didn't seem particularly saddened by his own belief and shrugged his shoulders, glancing away at some of the people seated near them and missing Harry's very pouty and sad face. At that moment, the waiter returned with their food so Harry didn't get to reproach Louis for being so negative about himself, instead distracted by the childish expression of delight that crossed Louis' face when he saw his chicken alfredo arrive. "Yay! I'm so hungry." As if to prove his point, Louis' stomach rumbled and Harry had to bite back a laugh at how cute Louis was being.

There was a good fifteen minute walk between the restaurant and their school, which gave the pair some time to walk off their dinner after they had eaten and paid the bill. Louis shoved both his hands into his pockets from the slightly chilly weather before Harry had the chance to hold his hand, but he quickly solved that problem by sliding his hand in and holding hands with Louis in his pocket.

"So." Louis absentmindedly thumbed the back of Harry's hand. "What are your friends like?"

"Hmm? I've got quite a few, you'll have to be a bit more specific." Harry turned to look at Louis. "Why'd you ask?"

Louis squirmed uncomfortably. "Because... you know, we're telling them tonight. And your friends are all scary."

Harry failed to smother a snicker at the statement, which he found absurd. "My friends are scary?"

Louis huffed and squinted at Harry grumpily. "They are! And you are, too."

Harry almost choked and did a double take. " _I'm_ scary?"

"You _are_!" Louis insisted, but then a teasing glint flashed in his eyes. "At least you were to me, before I got to know you and found out you're just some giant dorky goof." 

"Hey!" Harry bumped Louis' hips with his own. "You're so mean, Lou."

Louis stuck his tongue out at Harry, only trying to wind him up. He was caught off guard when Harry leaned down to playfully peck the muscle, making Louis squeak loudly and retract his tongue. Louis' eyes widened and he stared at Harry with colored cheeks for a few seconds, then he cleared his throat and continued on as if nothing had happened. "Anyway, as I was saying... your friends are all so intimidating and scary."

Now that he'd gotten over the initial surprise of hearing Louis' words, Harry was slightly concerned. "They're not, you'll see, they're all really lovely."

Louis didn't look very convinced. "How about, uh, Nick?"

Harry paused. "Uh... okay, he doesn't count. But just ignore him, okay? I promise everyone else is going to love you. But if you're nervous, we don't have to tell them tonight. We can just say we're going to the formal as friends, if you want."

Louis considered it for a while, then squirmed again. "I... I dunno."

"We don't have to tell them tonight, Lou," Harry repeated reassuringly. 

"No, no, we should," Louis mumbled, staring down at his shoes. "We said we'd do it... and if we don't do it today, then when will we?"

"Okay, if you're sure you want to." With his free hand, Harry tickled Louis' tummy and made the smaller boy squeal. "Cheer up! It's the winter formal, we're supposed to be having fun and not worrying about silly things."

"Hmph." Louis pushed Harry's hand away and snuggled up to his side. "I guess."

They met with Niall and Aurelia near the school gates, not close enough for them to see everyone else but close enough for them to see a couple of their classmates walking down the pavement. Louis was getting increasingly anxious and edgy and he couldn't stay still, constantly jumping and shifting around restlessly.

"Boo? You okay?" Harry asked when a twitchy Louis accidentally bumped into him several times.

"Mhmm, just nervous," Louis answered vaguely, bouncing on one foot. " 'm scared."

"Aww, Lou." Harry took his hand out of Louis' pocket so he could wrap his arm around Louis' waist and tuck his chin over Louis' shoulder. "Breathe, love. This is going to be fun!"

Louis nestled into Harry's chest and his jittery movements stopped, having successfully being calmed by Harry. "You two are so cute," Aurelia cooed. "I had no idea you guys were together!" Both Louis and Harry blushed at her words, and Aurelia giggled. "You're so adorable together."

In an effort to change the subject, Louis said, "Do you know when Zayn is getting here? I wanna know who his date is."

Niall glanced at his phone. "Z says he's close, maybe five more minutes, I guess."

"I wonder where Liam is, too." Harry checked his phone and saw that his friend hadn't sent him any messages for the past hour. "I guess he'll be getting here soon, or maybe he's inside already."

"Mmm." Louis breathed in Harry's cologne and relaxed against him. "Ten more minutes 'til the formal officially starts, guess we'll wait for them for ten minutes."

Sure enough, Zayn arrived at their rendezvous point five minutes later, dressed in a very stylish pink suit. That wasn't much of a surprise, since Harry already knew Zayn was a fashionable and dapper person, but what _was_ a surprise was that Zayn was accompanied by someone who was dressed in a completely black suit and looked suspiciously like Harry's own best friend.

Harry wasn't the only surprised person, though, because Niall, Louis, and even Aurelia were all gawking at the approaching couple. 

"Hi, guys," Zayn said nonchalantly, like he didn't notice the shocked expressions on everyone's faces. "Sorry I'm a little late. This is my date, Liam, but I'm sure you all already know him."

"L-Liam?" Harry spluttered. "Liam James Payne is your date?"

"The one and only." Liam bowed a little. "Hey, H."

"You— you guys are—?" Niall made a bunch of wild hand gestures that were barely understandable, but apparently Zayn had known Niall for long enough so he could interpret them perfectly.

"Yeah. We are."

Niall looked like he was on the verge of exploding. "Why didn't you— why didn't you _tell us_?!" 

Zayn shrugged. "Just because. This has only been happening for a couple weeks, Niall, I promise you haven't missed out on much."

"That's no excuse! Zayn Malik! I—" Niall's face was tomato red at this point, and Zayn laughed while patting his shoulder and gently leading him towards the school.

"I'll answer your questions, Ni, but let's get going. The formal's about to start." 

While they walked, Louis and Niall latched onto Zayn and bombarded him with queries, leaving Liam to Harry for questioning. "Liam!" Harry had an expression of amazement on his face and he smacked his friend on the arm. "You and Zayn are together now?!"

"Uh, yes and no. I don't know. Sort of." Liam rubbed his arm sorely and smacked Harry right back. 

"Why didn't you tell me?" Harry crossed his arms, a little hurt that Liam had been hiding this from him, especially since Harry had been telling Liam every single little thing that had been going on with Louis. 

"Sorry, H. I wanted to, but me and Zayn just agreed to keep it lowkey for a little while, y'know? It's not anything serious, but we didn't want to tell you guys so soon."

Harry scowled at Liam for a second before he uncrossed his arms and grinned. "Ugh, I can't stay mad at you. I'm so happy for you two, though!"

Liam smiled giddily. "Thanks, mate. I'm really happy for us, too."

The school hall was already dimmed and crowded with people when the group entered, and immediately Harry heard some of his friends call his name. "Harry! Hi!" Adrian popped up on Harry's left, accompanied by Stan. "We missed you at the diner, I'm so glad you're here now."

"Who's your date? We're dying to know!" Stan practically had to shout over the loud chattering in the hall to be heard, and Harry had to move closer to hear him.

Harry glanced over at Louis, who was still busy talking with Zayn. "Uh... I'll tell you guys later. Where's everyone else?"

"Over by the chocolate fountain." Adrian gestured to the corner of the room, where Harry recognized a group of his friends dipping strawberries into the melted, silky chocolate. "We're already snacking! Come on, H, the school finally gave us good food for once and it's not going to last forever, you need to eat some of it while it's still there."

"Yeah, okay. Give me a minute, will you? I'll be right there." 

"Tell Liam too, he loves chocolate, right?" Adrian and Stan started walking back to the chocolate fountain, heads turned so they could quickly say their last words to Harry. "Hurry up, you guys, the formal's about to start!"

As Adrian and Stan disappeared, Harry jogged over to where Louis was standing and snuck up behind him, catching Louis by surprise when Harry snaked an arm around his waist. "I'm going to go over to the chocolate fountain for a while, okay? All my friends are there."

"Hmm? Okay," Louis said distractedly, still too preoccupied with talking to Zayn.

At that moment, it was time for the formal to start and the principal got up onto the stage at the front of the hall to announce a few things, so most people didn't catch sight of Harry chuckling and pressing a kiss onto Louis' soft cheek. One person, however, did see the little display of affection from across the room and unfortunately, he didn't bear Louis any goodwill.


	37. Chapter 37

The chocolate-covered strawberries were delicious, and Harry carefully piled a few onto a paper plate so Louis could have some later, too, just in case the strawberries ran out. He got some chocolate-covered bananas and cherries too, lest Louis didn't like strawberries and would prefer some other type of fruit.

"Are you really that hungry, H?" Demi raised her eyebrows at the atrociously tall pile of chocolatey fruit Harry had on his plate. 

"Uh, no. These aren't for me, they're for my Lou - uh, my date." 

"Ooh, your _date_." Demi dipped a piece of strawberry into the chocolate fountain. "I don't know why you've been so secretive about your date, but I'm dying to know who he or she is, whoever they are— and I've been meaning to ask, whatever happened to Louis Tomlinson?"

"W-what?" Harry nearly dropped his paper plate but managed to regain his control before the fruit could topple to the ground.

"You know, Louis Tomlinson! I thought you liked him, right?"

"I, uh, I—"

"The last time you talked to me about it was months ago, though, so maybe your little crush fizzled out." She popped the strawberry into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed before she talked again. "Anyway, I hope you get your date over here as soon as you can, we've made bets about who your date is going to be and I wanna see if I'm right."

Harry rolled his eyes and sighed. "You made _bets_?"

"Well, we didn't bet any money or anything." Demi shrugged. "You've been so reclusive and secretive lately, none of us really have a clear idea of who your date might be and we thought it would be fun to guess! It's just a little game."

"You guys are the worst, I swear. Who are you betting on?"

"Wouldn't you like to know? I'm not telling you. You can find out who we're each betting on when you bring your date over, unless— you don't actually have a date and you're lying to preserve your pride?" Demi's eyes were twinkling mischievously. In her mind there was no way someone as popular and handsome as Harry wouldn't have a date; there was also no way a pure-hearted Harry would lie to his friends, but she loved to tease him about it.

Harry scoffed. "I do have a date, thank you very much. They're just busy right now." 

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Harry. Speaking of dates, do you know if Liam's got one? He hasn't told us anything too."

"Mhmm. He's got a date."

"Do you know who it is?"

"Yeah."

"Who?"

"Ask him yourself."

Demi groaned. "Ugh, you're both so annoying and uncommunicative, what happened to you guys? Fine, I'll go ask him."

Demi moved away to go nag Liam, who had been busy putting some marshmallows onto a cocktail stick so he could douse them in chocolate later. Finally free, Harry put the last piece of fruit onto the plate and turned to try to see if he could spot Louis in the crowd. Music was blasting from the speakers and people were already dancing while Harry was still standing in the corner of the hall, but he didn't really mind missing the first few songs since Louis was occupied with interrogating Zayn. He couldn't really see Louis now that there was a dancing crowd in the center of the hall, blocking Harry's line of sight, so after a while he decided to squeeze his way to the other side of the hall, where he'd left Louis.

"Hey, Lou," he said breathlessly when he managed to make it out of the horde of people. Miraculously, he hadn't spilled any of his chocolate-covered fruit during his journey and he held it out to Louis proudly. "I got these for you!"

"Ooh, thanks, Haribo!" Louis and Niall had apparently finished talking with Zayn, and Harry finally had Louis' full attention again. He'd missed it.

"There's strawberries and bananas and cherries," Harry clarified as Louis poked around the plate with a cocktail stick and finally settled on trying a strawberry. "D'you like it?"

"Mhmm. It's yummy." Louis' cheeks puffed up cutely like a chipmunk's as he ate and he held his plate up to Harry's face. "Do you want some?"

"Nah, I already ate some. Those are for you, love." 

Louis didn't complain and popped a few more pieces of chocolatey fruit into his mouth, humming happily at the delectable taste. While Louis ate, Harry had a look around and saw that Niall and Aurelia were dancing in the crowd, but Zayn was nowhere in sight. "Where'd Zayn go?"

"Oh, he left to go find Liam at the chocolate fountain just before you came here." Louis had plowed his way through the fruit surprisingly fast and he swallowed the last piece, looking rather disappointed that there was nothing left to eat. 

"My friends really wanna meet you, by the way. Apparently they've placed bets on who my date is."

"Scary."

"They're just joking around, Lou. I know they're going to love you." Harry slipped his hand into Louis'. "Shall I go introduce you to them, and then we can go dance and have fun?"

Louis hesitated, but finally agreed. "Mkay." 

He threw the paper plate and cocktail stick into the nearest rubbish bin and the two made their way across the hall again, back to where Harry's friends still were. As they walked, there were some glances and looks from people at their entwined hands, and Louis was already getting antsy, so Harry rubbed the back of his hand gently and gave Louis a reassuring smile.

True enough, Zayn was standing next to Liam by the chocolate fountain, already mingling. It seemed that Harry's friends had taken to the idea of Zayn being Liam's date rather well, because they were all talking and laughing— but then again, Zayn was known for being mysterious and cool and good-looking and maybe that was why Harry's friends weren't surprised. Nevertheless, Harry was sure they'd receive Louis just as well, because Louis was the sweetest, cutest person to ever exist and who wouldn't love him?

"Ready?" Harry leaned down to confirm, and when Louis nodded, he cleared his throat. "Guys! Guys, this is my date, Louis. Louis Tomlinson." 

Previously enthusiastic conversations petered out suddenly, and all of his friends were staring at the couple, as if Harry had just declared that pigs could fly. Loud, upbeat music was thrumming from the speakers, but their little corner in the hall was completely, painfully still, devoid of any sound. An awkward silence took over and Louis squirmed, looking like he was ready to run, ready to escape from the agonizing tension, and from all the eyes that were currently on him, as if they were analyzing his clothes, his hair, his stature— everything about him.

"He's not just my date, actually. He's, uh, my boyfriend. We're dating," Harry blurted out when he couldn't take the deafening quiet and the blank, gawking faces anymore. Still, his voice rang with pride. He wanted to show off his boyfriend to everybody because he was so, so incredibly proud, then he wanted to wrap himself around Louis and protect him from view because Louis was _his_ and why should other people be looking at him? "We have been for a while now. So, uh, yeah." 

Another bout of uncomfortable silence. At last, Dean uttered a response. "Wait, _seriously_?" 

Louis flinched at the two words and let out a little whimper, taking a small step back when he came to the conclusion that this wasn't going very well. Harry squeezed his hand tightly. He was sure his friends were just surprised and they wouldn't actually be mean to Louis... right?

Almost immediately, like something had snapped his friends into action, Adrian nudged Dean and muttered harshly, "Shut it," while someone else said, "Don't be rude, D."

"Yes, of course I'm being serious." Harry shot a glare at his friend. "Why would I joke about something like this?"

"Oh, um, hi, Louis!" Dean's voice was strangled, evidently embarrassed by his previous words. "I-I didn't mean to be rude, I was just wasn't expecting you to be Harry's date. Hi! It's so cool that you and Harry are together!"

"Um... okay?" Louis instinctively shuffled closer to Harry, feeling a little self-conscious with so many people staring at him. 

The rest of Harry's social circle slowly followed suit, waving and greeting polite hellos at Louis. Many had shocked expressions on their faces, confused at why someone like Harry was dating someone like Louis, but they tried to mask their confusion as best as they could in favor of being courteous to Louis. Obscured in the back of the group, however, a certain resentful person was less than happy at Harry's announcement, but Harry didn't have the chance to notice that when Demi rushed forward and grabbed Harry's hand.

"Oh my God, Harry, I have _so_ many questions. When the hell did this happen? How come I didn't know about this? You know what, never mind, I'll ask you later, but— hi, Louis! Look at you, I love your glittery suit, you look incredible!"

"O-oh, thank you." Louis had a nervous but genuine smile on his face, and he returned the compliment freely. "You look really lovely too, I really like your hair."

Demi beamed. "Thank you, you're such a sweetheart."

A few of Harry's friends jumped onto the bandwagon and came up to Louis to talk to him, although the conversations were a little strained and gauche when they were still bewildered at the abrupt and unexpected news that Louis and Harry were dating. Besides, none of them had really talked to Louis before or knew anything about him, aside from a handful of them who had only had strictly school-related, ten second-long conversations with the blue-eyed boy. All in all, Harry was grateful when he and Louis finally managed to slip away from his friends, who were starting to disperse onto the dance floor.

"Okay, it's official. Your friends hate me." Louis wrapped his arms around himself in an attempt to comfort himself, overwhelmed by his encounter with so many people he considered intimidating and scary.

"They do _not_ ," Harry insisted. "They were just a little surprised, that's all."

"Taylor called me Loo-wee _Tomalin._ "

"That was an accident! And she apologized straight after I corrected her, she's just bad with names sometimes. I promise, Taylor's really sweet and you two would get along so well." Louis scrunched his nose up in doubt, not very convinced, but he was distracted when Harry bent down and kissed Louis' nose affectionately. "C'mon, boo, let's forget about this and go dance!"

"Okay, okay." Louis let Harry take his hand and drag him out onto the dance floor, where they somehow found Niall and Aurelia among the gyrating crowd.

"There you are!" Aurelia exclaimed, grabbing Louis' hand and pulling him closer, inadvertently pulling him away from Harry. "We were wondering where you guys had gone!"

Harry was feeling all but cold and lonely without Louis by his side. He huffed and roped an arm around Louis' waist to pull him back into his chest, but Aurelia didn't note his possessive behavior when another song started playing, the bass blasting through the speakers and causing little vibrations in the floor. 

"I love this song!" Aurelia squealed, turning to grab Niall's hand instead. 

"Oh my God, me too!" Niall screeched over the din, and the two began to jiggle and bop to the beat, resembling two headless chickens— two headless chickens having _fun_ , though, and Louis and Harry couldn't help joining in. Harry had been terrified of dancing in front of Louis in fear that his awkward moves would be made fun of by Louis, but luckily for him, he soon found out there wasn't anything to be afraid of. They were _both_ absolutely terrible at dancing, prancing and jigging and flailing around randomly, and being hazards to everyone around them. It was a tiny bit embarrassing to be an awful dancer, but the happy, teasing yet not mean-spirited giggles pouring out from Louis' mouth made it worth it to Harry.

A few upbeat pop songs later, the speakers began to play a slower, sentimental ballad. All around them, couples - including Niall and Aurelia - had swiftly gravitated to each other, dancing very closely together. Nearby, the teachers chaperoning the formal kept an eye on everyone, ready to jump in and stop any overly lovey-dovey antics in the currently romance-filled hall. 

Harry was a little sweaty from their energetic dancing session, but nevertheless he held out his hand to Louis. "Shall we?"

Louis took a look at the slow-dancing couples surrounding them and felt his heart skip a little when he imagined doing the same with Harry. "Okay."

Harry slipped his hands around Louis' petite waist, Louis draped his around Harry's shoulders, and all of a sudden their bodies were aligned and their faces were so close that Harry could feel Louis' breathing, and he was incredibly, incredibly tempted to lean down and just kiss him. 

Louis yelped and looked away when he realized how close he and Harry were, his heart beating a mile a minute and his nose pressed into Harry's collarbone. Harry melted at the sight of his adorably shy boyfriend, and he wondered if it was possible to be _too_ fond of someone, because that was definitely how he was feeling right now.

He momentarily removed a hand from Louis' waist so he could place it under Louis' chin and tilt his head up. "Hey, love. Don't be nervous, it's just me."

"U-uh, yeah, of course, sorry," Louis squeaked. His cheeks were a bright pink and his beautiful blue eyes were blown wide open, allowing Harry to gaze deep into them and find a little home for himself there, a little home he hoped he would never have to leave.

They swayed wordlessly to the music for a while, listening to the singer's sultry voice croon about love and flowers, and enjoying each other's company and touch. Harry could hardly believe he was _slow dancing with Louis Tomlinson_ , and yep, just like he'd predicted, his stomach was being assaulted by a giant horde of butterflies. It was taking every single bit of his willpower to either not pass out, or not scream from excitement. Louis looked ethereally gorgeous and his and his eyes were heavenly and he smelled so good this close and, and— Harry really had to control his thoughts before he got too overwhelmed with passion and just fell over.

He couldn't just keep all of these thoughts to himself, however, so he opened his mouth. "Lou?"

"Hmm?"

"You're really pretty."

Louis' cheeks flushed an even deeper color. How was Louis still so attractive even when he looked like a tomato? It was so unfair. Harry really needed to bang on God's door and ask him why He had created such a winsome, exquisite creature that surpassed and outshone everyone around him. He didn't have much time to go through his little crisis, though, because at that moment Louis got up onto his tiptoes and kissed him.

It was, by far, their longest kiss yet, lasting a good ten seconds before Louis pulled away, and Harry died right there on the spot. This was, officially, way too much for him; he physically and emotionally could not handle it. All he could do was gape at Louis like a fish while his body scrambled to gather itself and get the brain working again. In his dumbfounded daze, he couldn't discern the pair of fuming eyes that were watching him and Louis, nor could he detect the seething owner of those furious eyes.

A low, quiet wolf whistle next to them caused Louis and Harry to turn their heads. "Ooh la la, look at you lovebirds," Niall teased from where he was swaying with Aurelia. "Damn it, I forgot to take a picture!"

" _Niall!_ " Aurelia chastised, smacking Niall's chest, but she winked at Louis and Harry. "Although, I have to agree with you. These two lovebirds are so sweet."

"Aurie, _shut up_ ," Louis mumbled, his voice muffled since he had buried his face into Harry's shoulder. "You guys are so embarrassing."

Aurelia stuck her tongue out but kept her mouth shut, instead deciding to shoot the pair a knowing smirk. Harry decided that she and Niall really were perfect for each other.

The formal was nearing its end after a while. Harry and Louis had finally gotten tired of all the dancing and had retired back to the corner of the hall where the chocolate fountain was, mindlessly snacking on the leftover food and catching up with their friends and classmates. Now that they'd had time to process the existence of Harry and Louis' relationship, Harry's friends were much more willing to come up to Louis and chat. It was a huge sigh of relief for Harry to see that his friends had finally taken to Louis well— it was never easy to balance a partner and friends who didn't like each other, and Harry was glad he didn't have to.

Louis and Dean were connecting over their shared trait of being the oldest brother to several siblings when Harry felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see the one and only Nick Grimshaw.

"Hey, Nick. I haven't seen you all night!" 

"Hey, H." Nick had a rather tight grip on his drink, his knuckles white and his expression frosty. 

"What's up?"

"I hear you and Tomlinson are dating." 

Harry straightened up a little. "Uh, yeah. We are."

"Seriously, H? _Him_?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You could do so much better than that guy."

Harry narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms defensively. "I'm sorry?"

"It's just— you're— ugh." Nick threw his hands up in the air and stomped off without offering any more explanation. Harry watched him go, slightly bewildered, but mostly upset at the comment Nick had made about Louis. What had Louis ever done to Nick, anyway?

He spotted Liam talking to Taylor a few meters away and, realizing he hadn't talked to his best friend much during that night, decided to go over and join their conversation. But, as he was walking towards them, he heard a loud, angry shout coming from behind him.

He turned just in time to see Nick forcefully push Louis into the chocolate fountain, causing Louis, the table, and everything on it to topple over and slam harshly into the ground. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who finally managed to actually update on time? :D
> 
> and happy valentine's day! although, this chapter isn't the fluffiest nor most romantic lol (also not the best because i wrote this at midnight and am extremely incoherent right now - my apologies)


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